Raven: Emerald Fist MS
by Obsidian Blade
Summary: After escaping her oppressive home in Malmarsh fighting dojo, Raven takes up the risky business of being a Pokemon trainer in the hopes of gaining control of her life. But is that really what she's getting?
1. Sticks and Stones

**Emerald Fist**

**_Scratch one on the father table _**

By **O**bsidian **B**lade

_ Concentrate._

I held my hands ready in fists, adjusting my stance by a fraction of an inch as my eyes never left the chest of my opponent.

_ All attacks make the torso move. Even the slightest twitch can give away an oncoming attack._

There. A ripple in the cloth covering the left breast. I threw myself into a hard roundhouse, knocking my enemy out of a potential attack.

_ Always push every advantage to its full._

I kept up a barrage of assault; kick after punch after uppercut after elbow slam. My opponent staggered and cursed, somehow escaping my offence long enough to pull back.

_ They always have another trick up their sleeve._

He sneered at me and wiped a droplet of blood from his lips.

_ Make sure you gain from it._

"You're not so bad, for a girl." He decided, "But I can still win."

_ If your concentration never wavers…_

He leapt forward, attempting to use his massive bodyweight to slam me back into the dust.

_ …then nothing can stop you._

I flipped back to escape, letting him trip and stumble before dealing a swift uppercut to the jaw. There was a moment in which absolute fury reigned in his eyes and then he let rip the offence I had been expecting; the 'trick' he had apparently 'hidden' for most of the battle.

_ Every enemy has attacks…_

I blocked a hard punch, trying to ignore the splitting pain that snaking up my arm from the elbow to the wrist. No time to recover, he was still on me.

_ Every enemy has strengths…_

He managed to land a full hit in my gut, sending me staggering back in pain. But pain wasn't enough to beat me, I'd felt enough of it already to last a decade.

_ But every enemy also has weaknesses…_

Purposefully taking a glancing blow to the shoulder I slammed a high kick into his chin, sending his head cracking back with a force strong enough to shatter the trunk of a tree.

_ Exploit them and the battle is yours._

After the chin blow all he could do was block weakly as I pressed the attack once again, landing hit after hit after hit despite his desperate attempts to defend himself.

_ Take it while it's hot…_

I forced him to the edge of the cruel cement arena and then gave him a roundhouse kick, sending his heavy-weighted body flying out into the empty bleachers.

_ …and you'll see it's not so hard._

"You alright, Jeza?" I called, leaping from the arena and landing lightly on one of the long benches.

"As fine as I can be after a fight with you." The boy replied, grinning up at me through a sweat soaked mop of brown hair.

I hauled him to his feet with one hand, ignoring my own sweat that dripped down my face and stung my eyes. No matter how easy everything seemed while I was still in combat, the after-effects were always there, the menace just waiting to strike when my adrenaline level sank again. We started to walk towards the changing rooms that were positioned side by side, picking our way over the hard silver bleachers to reach the main isle of dirty concrete steps. The harsh white lights bore down from brackets on the ceiling, leaving nothing in the small arena unlit.

Jeza rubbed one leather bound hand against his arm to relieve the pain gathering there, making the skin red and puffy.

"Don't do that," I scolded, flapping a hand at his arm, "Get some ice on it instead."

"Yes Miss Raven," He replied in a droning teacher's pet voice, "You know I'll do anything you ask Miss Raven."

"Shurrup." I ordered, giving him a light slap on the shoulder.

We had reached the twin doors to the changing rooms, the familiar stench of cold sweat and dirty clothing combined with bad sewers and a full bin reaching my senses. By now I could bare it without my eyes watering, but I couldn't help but grimace as I stepped inside. Unwashed fighter's clothes lay strewn about the floor, accompanied by bottles filled with stale water and the mouldy remains of who-knows-what that hid in the darkest corner under a bench. The click and clack of my lock seemed multiplied when I was alone in this room, adding with the atrocious smell and attempting to overwhelm my senses. The first time that happened to me my five-yr-old self was sure I was coming down with a fever. Sometimes I still couldn't shake that feeling today.

The locker door swung open and I grabbed my clothes and slammed it shut as fast as I could, trying not to breath in the old egg smell that had permeated this locker for as long as I could remember. I made the shower as quick as I could, standing tip-toe the whole time to keep the most of my feet off the slimy tile floor. That done I leapt out of the shower room, the sandy floor cutting into my bare feet as I sprinted to my bag, stuffed my clean clothes on my soaking body and raced out of that reeking place. Outside the air was crisp and cold, the ground still wet from the light spring rain we'd had yesterday. The sun was out, but its light was weak and pale compared to the golden shine of summer.

In the lone tree outside the gym a flock of Tailow had taken residence, cheeping cheerily to each other and occasionally fluttering from branch to branch. I had a sudden urge to pick up a stone and take one of them out, but stopped myself. I might be as pissed as I always was at my lame excuse for a father, but that was no reason to take it out on the Pokèmon… Even if they did wake me up every morning at four a.m. with their blasted morning chorus.

"You did crap, girl." A deep voice decided from behind me, "You coulda taken out that fool in no time if you'd trained betta."

I turned to face him, keeping my anger under control so I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how his words effected me.

"If you want a good fighter who trains all day all night to achieve your dream get yourself a Machamp. It might actually want to serve you, but why I couldn't guess." I spat.

"If it's more loyal than you I'll take it." My father responded. He took a few steps towards me, aiming to put a hand on my shoulder for a more intimidating impression. "You'll make a good fighter one day, Raven. I'll make sure of it."

His voice was low and menacing, but I didn't let it effect me.

"No." I brushed off his hand and started to walk away, "I don't let wimps take control of my life."

"If I'm a wimp then what are you?!" He shouted after me.

I didn't respond, why the Hell should I? It was bad enough that his voice and his instructions always got me through fights without having him enticing retorts out of me too. But now… I put my head back as I walked barefoot out of the cement compound, leaving the potted tree and its Tailow behind. I'd said that I don't let wimps take control of my life, but, if that were true, would I still be wasting my time fighting to carry out my father's dream?

As much as I always tried to deny it, that was what I did every day in that arena. I assured myself it was for my own strength, but this was different, far, far different. I got stronger, true, but as I did my father's dream got nearer. I didn't want that. To Hell with him, I wasn't going to be the good little daddy's girl that did everything for my old man. No, there was going to be something better for me than that.

Suddenly a wave of sound exploded from a nearby alleyway, sending my mind into instant alert. I felt my father's intuition trying to slip sneakily into my head, but batted it away.

_'I don't need you.'_

No matter that this city was filled with slashers and muggers and criminals of all kinds, I could take care of myself without his stupid pointers echoing in my head from when I was a little kid, from when mum was still alive…

I snapped my mind out of that train of thought before it could even take me anywhere. If there was a psycho killer down that alley the last place my mind needed to be was with the lingering thoughts of my mother. There would be another time and place for that reverie, but certainly not now.

I regained my sharp concentration and crept forward down the dark alleyway, keeping to the cold brick walls to stop myself from being to obvious. Thoughts of sharp objects sneaking across my throat and laying me open flickered across my mind but I barred them out. The fighter with the most concentration would win, no matter size or weight.  
I stopped dead in my tracks, my heart beating fast in my chest. No. No way. I couldn't have just thought that, could I?! My father's words, but in my voice? He really was taking control of me, faster than I could even hope to comprehend. It snapped inside of me; I had to get away from this place. Far, far away, away from my sire and away from the memories. If I could get enough distance between us I might manage to escape this nightmare altogether…

Suddenly a flashing glint of silver shot towards me, only my heightened reactions saving me from a gory, slashed up death. The steel blade rammed into the wall right where my head had been, sending red dust and chips of the brick flying outwards from the heavy impact. I had been thinking too long. My concentration had broken and now I was the one under attack.

But suddenly I didn't want to get in a fight. Feigning a fall I landed on my left hand and swiped my attacker's legs out from under him. With a loud thud his heavy form slammed home, a groan of pain escaping his throat along with a putrid gush of alcohol breath and swearwords even I hadn't picked up before. I made a mental note to remember those then turned and ran.

People in a normal city would have been surprised to see me, the red tinted black haired, amber eyed girl with her arms and fists bound in leather and her feet bare, running through their home, but Malmarsh city was different. They were used to me and my emotion-driven outbursts as much as they were to the Grimer inhabiting the drains. Right now I was heading for the edge of the Metropolis, ignoring the jarring pain that jolted up my legs with every running step as I snaked around the people and bicycles that barred my way. Everything but myself seemed to be in slow motion, the few people and occasional bikes that cluttered the sidewalks moving at a Slugma's pace as I raced along. Even the cars seemed slow, despite the fact that no-one around here ever did less than thirty-five even around the centre.

I sprinted along the ground, the cement slabs flying beneath my feet in a blur and the cool air pummelling my face and making my eyes water heavily. I felt as if I were trying to outrun the past, or perhaps the future, trying to escape what had happened and what was to come. I knew I couldn't do it, but the sheer speed was clearing my head. I'm not the spiritual type, so I'll blame it on the air and my heart beating the blood around my body faster than a Rapidash runs.

Finally I reached the edges of the wooded area, two miles from where I had started. I slid to a stop and did my best to stop myself from falling to the ground. I was exhausted. My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I felt it would tear through me if it kept going and my head was spinning. The edges of my vision fizzed in and out of being as I sank back against a tree trunk, giving in to my body's want for comfort.

After a good fifteen minutes I raised my head from my chest, still panting a little from my run, and gazed out at the hideous concrete mess before me. Smokestacks belched dark fumes into the sky, muddying the once crisp white clouds above and marring the horizon. The buildings were all red or grey, all rectangular, all bearing the same pyramid roofs above and the build up of pollution on the walls.

It was hideous. This place, my home, was absolutely disgusting. I couldn't believe that I lived in this messed-up excuse for a city, breathing in those toxic fumes everyday and walking around like another one of those pre-programmed robots that seemed to patrol every corner. The city was made even uglier when this beautiful forest was at my back. This forest, with its amazing array of greens, reds, pinks, blues and yellows, with its diverse wildlife and its wonderful clean air. Well, I looked back at the city, as clean as you could get when your neighbour was that stinking mass.

I threw my bag back at the city with all my might and turned away.

"This is the start of my life," I told myself as I started to walk into the forest, smirking as I heard the clang of my bag landing in a rubbish bin, "So I don't need any of the old trash."

With one hand I rooted about in my pocket in search of some money. I found a stick of gum (half chewed), a hair bobble (coated in mud after being used in a rubber band war), a ticket for the S.S. Tidal and about ¥5,000. I winced, not much, but it would have to do. After all, what else did I have? I smiled at that. I liked where this was heading. I had total freedom. Sure, I had no shoes, a pathetically small amount of money and practically zilch in the possession department, but there was nothing holding me back. There was nothing to lose… and everything to gain.

* * *

**A/N:** As you can probably tell, this isn't going to be a standard journeying fic. But it'll still have as much action as I can give it. You'll also find that quite a few created Pokemon are going to appear (or star) in future chapters, and I advise those who have problems picturing creatures in their head to visit the Janera League site (you can reach it through my bio) to help out. Note that this fic is also there in the form I like it to be seen in - pics and everything! Other than that, a big thanks to TopazSoarhire for her great fiction inspiring me to write in first person again and PLEASE REVIEW! 

_Pokemon ©1995-2003 Nintendo, GAME FREAK Inc, Creatures Inc.  
Janera and all related creatures, items and landforms ©2002-2004 Obsidian Blade  
Emerald Fist and related plotlines and characters ©2003-2004 Obsidian Blade  
All rights reserved. Theft shall not be tolerated. _


	2. Gingerbread

**

Emerald Fist

**

_Gingerbread_

By **O**bsidian **B**lade 

    I trudged along through the forest, the mud coating my legs all the way up to mid-thigh. My burst of optimism from yesterday was dying off pretty quick now, a few remaining embers all that remained. I was getting sick of these woods. Yesterday they had represented my newfound freedom, but today, with the memories of a rainy, Weedle infested night still fresh in my mind, it represented mud, mud, more mud and then even _more_ mud on the side. Gaahhh, how I wished I'd thought to bring shoes, spare clothes, more money and some proper FOOD.   
    At that thought my stomach growled as loud as a Mightyena in complaint. Gawd, what I wouldn't do for a bacon butty… Hot from the grill, greasy, ketchup yummmmm… 

    "YAHHHHIEEE!!!" I shrieked, my feet sliding out from under me as my bacon butty fantasy sent me sliding down a muddy bank toward a bubbling bog. "Oh shit." I mumbled, there was NO WAY landing in that would be nice.   
I grabbed at the bank I was sliding down but all I grabbed were handfuls of slimy greenish brown sludge. But there! As fast as I could I grabbed a tree root sticking out of the bank, ignoring the way the wood dug into my palm and trying to imagine the maggots seething around me away. Why oh why was it me who slid down the maggot infested    A held on tighter, gritting my teeth and trying to expel some of the grit and muddy grime I had in my maw. I seemed to be doing okay now, my grip on the root staying true. But wait… Suddenly my mind clicked. _'Maggots… root… EATING…'_   
    "Oh shit." I repeated, just as the root gave way under my weight, sending me slipping and sliding down the mud, now accompanied by numerous maggots and other grubs. Sticks, plants and stones that lined the bank ripped at my skin and clothing, leaving harsh red lines down my arms, legs and stomach. I gagged and choked on mud as I scratched uselessly at the slope in an attempt to save myself. Too late. 

    SPLASH! I landed in the bog, mud that smelled worse than the changing rooms at my father's gym swirling over my head and slimy skinned somethings brushing my body as I pushed frantically up toward the surface. Just when I thought my lungs would burst I exploded from the bog, my mouth gaping open for air but getting more watery mud than anything else.   
    I shook my head ferociously, my hair sending more mud splattering everywhere. After wiping my mouth on the back of my sludgy hand I struck out fervently for what I could see was solid land. 

More easily said then done, I tells ya. 

    The mud churned around me at my frantic splashing, filling my mouth and nose and eyes and only adding to my panic. My father's voice was drowned out in my head by the frantic warning bleeps as I sank momentarily below the surface but I was too busy spluttering and gasping for air as I came up again to celebrate.   
    I swapped movements to the crawl, dragging myself through the thick murky mud with powerful strokes of my arms. My feet kicked out behind me, making contact with something sharp that I somehow ignored. I had to ignore it, just as I had to pretend that the grit coating my body and irritating my skin wasn't bothering me. If I let myself try to scratch or panic it'd be bye-bye Raven as I sank into the stinking mess. 

    Finally the tips of my fingers hit the hard land of the shore and I hauled my exhausted body up with much difficulty, letting myself collapse choking and gasping to the dank ground. Its earthy scent barely penetrated my mud-coated nostrils, but it was enough to comfort me a tiny bit. My arms felt like rubber as they lay motionless by my side, the grit that clung to my every pore itching and scratching as I finally sat up.   
    I managed to remove the worst of the slime from my arms and body with the palms of my hands, but my fingers wouldn't move with the cold. In fact, my entire body was either shivering or frozen in place, leaving me pretty defenceless. I had to get a fire started, no matter how, I just _had_ to. I had to warm up, my life most probably depended on it. 

    Pulling every ounce of determination from my being I pulled my legs up underneath me, straightening them oh-so-slowly as I stood. I looked around. I smiled. I kept standing. But then suddenly the world was shaking around me, my pale legs, dirty brown with mud, shivering in uncontrollable spasms.   
  
No luck. One ankle gave way, sending me falling sideways, arms flailing for something,_ anything,_ to grab onto. No hope. I hit the ground hip-first, a sharp pain shooting through my lower thigh followed by a warm trickle. I looked down.   
"Damn this!"   
    My leg was impaled on a root, the dark wood buried deep in my flesh. A crimson stream ran swiftly from the wound, dripping onto the soft earth were it was instantly sucked up.   
"Damn it ALL!" I screamed to the canopy of trees above me.   
A flock of Spearow exploded from the trees and into the sky, squawking their complaints as they retreated away. 

    With a final scream of anger and defeat I let my head hit the ground, not even caring as something squirmed out from under me and writhed its way off into the dark dead bracken. Why did it matter? If I died, here, now, I would at least be with my mother…   
    Thoughts of her smiling face, blue eyes sparkling with happiness and love and body shaking with playful laughter jumped into my head. I couldn't even raise the strength to bat them away. As images rose unbidden into my minds eye, myself on her shoulders as a tiny child, burying my face in her silky blue hair, her running across a field as her Growlithe leapt along beside, nipping playfully at her ankles, I let myself do something I never did. I cried.   
    Cried and cried and cried. Cried soundlessly, tears slipping across my dirty face and leaving salty trails of skin in their wake. I cried until my eyes ached as much as my heart and the sides of my vision started to sink into fizzing darkness. 

* * * 

    I don't know for how long I was out, but it was long enough. I woke with a splitting headache and limbs that felt like lead. It was dark again, but I could see my breath hanging in the air in front of me by the silvery light of the moon that slunk through the guarding trees and splashed softly upon the ground.   
    It was a clear night, the moon and stars shining like silver beacons through the blanket of midnight blue. It was also, very, very cold. If I was in a bad way before, I was practically dead now. Numbly I rubbed at my senseless arms and legs, blinking the strange tiredness from my eyes as I worked hard to heighten my body heat. It wasn't working. Fear crept up from the pit of my stomach like a venomous snake, ripping at my insides and leaving me cold and empty, yet heavy and coiled at the same time. Was I going to… die? Here? From something so trivial as a slip down a slope? 

    Those thoughts fresh in my mind, I rubbed harder and with renewed determination. I wouldn't die here, it would be like proving my father right; I was a weakling. I scrubbed at my skin until it was red, raw and shining in the light, scraps of mud torn from my skin by my fervent actions and then rubbed into the stinging wounds. And it still wasn't working!   
    I pressed harder and rubbed faster, a lump rising in my throat. I bit it back, I'd had my annual crying session earlier today and there was no way I was going to reduce my pride any further by repeating it. The cold set in further, biting my flesh and coiling around me in a grip of freezing death. My movements started to slow as my toes lost all feeling and my lips found themselves almost incapable of moving.   
    I was about to give up again, like I had earlier only for a much longer time, when a warm nose stabbed me viciously in the arm. I looked down, my head quivering and my eyes barely able to focus on the creature in front of me. It was a… some sort of Pokèmon. I think… A Rattata. Yeah, that's it. Rattata. 

    It squeaked something incomprehensible and rubbed the side of its warm furred face against my arm. Its fur was soft and purple on top, slightly tougher and tan coloured on the bottom. I was too tired to see the colour of its eyes. Too tired…   
    My head rolled over on my neck, most of its weight resting on one freezing shoulder. Rattata squeaked again, more urgently this time as if it were trying to call me back. I couldn't… just couldn't.   
"WeeEEEP!" The little creature squealed, rubbing its whole body against my side.   
It struck me as to how this Pokèmon would help me, a human, without question when our own 'intelligently advanced' society wouldn't do as much as to hold out a hand to help a blind man cross the road. The thought of a fool, maybe. For that to be one of my last thoughts I had to be. 

    I leant my back gently against the hard bark of a tree as Rattata kept up its relentless quest to keep me awake. I started to doze fitfully, the wound on my inner thigh seeming to inflate and itch as I dipped in and out of the waters of unconsciousness like a nervous child first learning to swim. I felt myself prepare to dive off the deep end when a sharp pain shot through my hand and an added weight forced its way into my lap.   
    I forced my eyes open again to see the little faces of about ten Rattata in my lap and a Hoothoot perched on my hand. Then pain had been courtesy of its sharp talons and I had to say I was thankful. As the ten Rattata went about warming me up, Hoothoot perched on my shoulder, whispering sounds of encouragement into my ear. To my disbelief I was starting to feel better, the light-headedness starting to flee my mind and the movement returning to my hands and feet. Even the death lock the cold had around my chest started to relax, letting me breath without pain. 

    After maybe two hours of pampering from Rattata and Hoothoot I could stand again, walk even. Eleven pairs of sparkling eyes stared up at me as I walked my first lap of a set of three trees, rotten wood and dead plants crackling under my bare feet. I returned to my little saviours and hugged them each, unable to really show my gratitude.   
    Strangely, they seemed to sense it anyway, but how I could tell I don't know. I tilted my head back and gazed at the twinkling cosmos above me, a smile gracing my thin lips.   
"Thank you." I said to the Pokèmon, but when I looked down they were gone. 

    "Strange…" I murmured, setting off through the forest once again.   
I hadn't got far when men's voices reached my ears, their tone venomous as I picked out a few swearwords in their dialogue. Flashlight beams pierced the darkness, flooding over the vegetation as they swung around through the air. It looked as if the holders were trying to cover everyplace at once…   
    I covered a smile with my hand, whoever these people were, they were cowards if they were afraid of being in _this_ forest. Why were they even out here at this hour if they were scare--- Then it hit me with the force of a thousand stones: They were out here for me. 

    Suddenly I saw the whole scene in a different light. These people weren't blundering cowards cussing their way through a forest. They were hunters, the beams of their flashlights silver tendrils reaching out for me through the darkness, swatting at my body and weakly grasping at my clothes.   
    Without another breath I turned and ran, blundering noisily away on still shaken legs. If I'd been in perfect health none of that would have happened; I would have crept slowly and quietly away and hidden where they couldn't find me. As it was, I was fearful after the bog incident and any little thing could send me leaping like a terrified deer.   
    I heard a few shouts from behind me and suddenly I was bathed in revealing light. The wind blew into my face as I rushed headlong through the undergrowth, narrowly avoiding trees and plants and other obstacles as I sped off. They were still hot on my trail, even though the silvery spectres of their flashlight beams had lost their grip on my form. 

    "Hey! Get back here!" One of them yelled, slurring his words together like a drunkard. I assume he was.   
I didn't reply, didn't stop either. That would be a very, **very** stupid thing to do and I knew better. I was running full tilt, sharp ended sticks embedding themselves in the soles of my feet as I leapt through the bracken.   
"We'll get you, you little bugg-GLOFF!"   
    A smile twitched my lips as I realised that one of the fools following me had met the same muddy fate as I had done earlier. Serves him right! They should never have tried to catch me in the first place. And still I ran on, the harsh wind buffeting my face and ripping at my loose t-shirt. I leapt over fallen trees and logs like a champion show jumping Rapidash, forced my way through prickly bushes with the stubbornness of a Rhyhorn and occasionally swung from vines to get over more bogs and Pokèmon holes that littered my path. 

    But I was still tired, and the men were gaining on me. The chemicals pumping through my veins made my muscles burn as I hauled myself on, my breath wearing away at the inside of my throat like sandpaper. I started to slow down a little, the blood beating in my ears like a slack drum and forcing my concentration to waver. There was a large tree up ahead, its branches extending far into the sky and its roots twisting and turning on the ground.   
    I decided to jump over the roots to avoid spraining, or even breaking, my ankle and prepared myself as I came closer. I was ten feet from the tree, six feet five feet four feet three feet two feet one foot… I bunched my legs beneath me and sprang, waiting for that familiar burst of speed and power I expected. It never came. My legs were too tired. Instead of shooting over the roots and landing gracefully on the other side my feet slammed into two gaps between roots causing me to fall forward onto my face. 

    The precious time and distance I was loosing haunting my head like a curse I tried to pull myself free and run on, but my feet remained firmly stuck. I rolled over as best as I could and grabbed my thigh with my hands, yanking with all my strength. Not fast enough… I pulled harder, tried the other leg, went into a pulling frenzy, but I was stuck firm.   
    I looked up to see where my pursuers had got to, but they had disappeared. I blinked and looked harder; they couldn't simply have _not been there_. My amber eyes scanned the surrounding forest, my hackles rising as I realised what a bad position I was on. 

    "Gotcha!" A loud voice bellowed from behind me, heavy hands slamming down onto my shoulders and knocking me back into the harsh cradle of roots.   
I couldn't help it, my lips parted and I let out an ear splitting screech. The man covered his ears with one hand, and growled at me before his allies came and lifted me from my wooden prison. Now free, I knew exactly what I had to do. As much as I wanted to leave my father and his dream behind in the dust, this had to be done.   
    "Kiiyaaa!"   
The sound issued from the centre of my being and I landed a swift kick to the head of on of my captors, sending his head cracking back on his skinny neck. As quickly as I could I flipped, punched or kicked all of my opponents away and prepared to run… But one got back up. 

    "Well well Raven, it looks like I was right after all, you are a real fighter." That all-familiar deep voice decided as the man, as _my father_, hauled himself up.   
Before I could so much as sneer he took up an offensive posture I was vaguely familiar with and struck out to my solar plexus. I caught his heavy booted foot in my hands, my over-used muscles straining to keep my father's attacks at bay.   
    He let out a well-rehearsed stream of furious kicks and punches that I could barely keep up with, but I did. He did a flying kick but I ducked beneath him and rammed both elbows on either side of his spine, coaxing a pained grunt from the man. It was an unorthodox move, but why the Hell should I care? Right now all I wanted to do was run. So I did. While my enemy was down in the dirt I gathered the tiny reserve of energy I hadn't depleted to nothing and sprinted away into the wild.   
    By the time father was back up, I was gone. 

* * * 

    Three hours later found me trudging along once again, the addition of scraped knees and skinned palms making me even more careful not to fall. Which in turn slowed me down, but it did keep me from falling into craftily hidden bogs. It was getting really dark now due to the blanket of clouds that had appeared from nowhere, cold too, and I could barely see what was around me even after having ages for my eyes to adjust. My warm breath rose high into the night sky, a plume of white against the rich black.   
    I looked up and scowled; where was the moon when you needed it? At that point I could easily be persuaded into believing that everything was out to stop my escape. What had I done to deserve this? With a groan of desperation and temporary defeat I slid down the trunk of a huge, smooth barked tree and deposited my arse on the ground. That was when I heard it. 

    Night in a forest is not quiet, just so you know. People in cities tend to be drawn into believing that because there are no cars, nightclubs and brightly lit signs among the trees there is no nocturnal night. WRONG! Plenty of the natural Pokèmon species stay up way past your average human's bedtime, letting their voices carry eerily out to any traveller, accompanied by the rustle of movement and the swish of wing. Me, I wasn't afraid. If you have nothing really to lose I guess that means you've nothing really to fear. And after the incident with the Rattata and Hoothoot I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be attacked… not by the native Pokèmon , anyhow.   
    But there was this one noise that stood out like a sore thumb against the coarse mumblings of the other creatures in the forest. It was the cry of a Pokèmon, long and wailing. It gave me the impression of silk, for all that that representation sounds bizarre, while all the others were cotton. But that's when I realised why: it was the call of a daytime Pokèmon . 

    So that got my immediate attention. I hauled myself from the dirt, rubbing my eyes and forcing my legs to carry me forward again. If my thigh muscles had mouths, they would have been complaining particularly loudly about how unfair this was, tricking them into believing I was going to let them have a rest. I've got to say that I'm happy muscles can't talk.   
    As always, my ears guided me true and I soon reached a small clearing in the woods. Ears pricked and senses on alert I crept forward, my eyes flicking over everything for trace of a flash of the lighter colour daytime Pokèmon normally were. On first look I didn't see anything, but second… 

    "Wow…" I whispered, my amber eyes glued to the little mound of blue huddled beneath a tree root.   
On closer inspection I saw that it was a little bird-like creature, with silky sky-blue down covering its slightly chubby body. It looked to be about three feet tall and was shaped a little like a Swablu, but actually possessing a neck and head rather than a head/body combination. Its tail was fanned out on the ground behind it, curving and dipping over the ground like, well, silk. Perhaps my representation wasn't quite so off… 

    _"W-who are you?"_ A tiny voice asked.   
I looked around for the owner of the voice, but saw no-one else. But wait… was that the Pokèmon speaking?   
"Do you talk?" I inquired, moving out of the bushes so the bird could see me completely.   
_"I ate some tasty berries," _It, no, she, certainly she, responded, _"And now I can make human sounds."_   
"Oh right."   
    From the sound of her voice and the words she was using I was pretty sure the Pokèmon was a baby. But what would a vulnerable child be doing out in the open during the night? "Are you alright there?" I couldn't help but feel a little strange talking to a blue bird. A blue baby bird. What sort of phrasing are you supposed to use there?   
    She shook her head,_ "I left mummy yesterday, but then I got stuck. I think a Linoone or Houndour might eat me if I stay here any longer!"_   
Houndour. So there were stronger Pokèmon around… I guessed that if there were an ounce of good in my body I had to play hero now and save this little creature before she was gobbled up.   
"I'll help you out." I assured her, stepping closer. 

    She looked wary at first, but didn't do anything to resist. Why would she? If she stayed there she'd be dead by morning so there was nothing for her to lose. _'Just like me…' _My mind chuckled.   
The rest of me failed to see what was so funny.   
    My life so far had practically defined the word 'crap'. The first five years were good, filled with memories of my mother's smiling face and my father's lunchtime training sessions. But then, the day after I turned six, my mother was murdered by a lunatic with a knife. After that my father seemed to draw into himself. I never saw him smile and he spent all his time training in his gym. I used to watch him from behind one of the bleachers, but he eventually caught me. After that, he decided to train me too. From that day forth my life was made up of sleeping, training, going to school and eating. I used to daydream in class about what I could be doing if I weren't stuck with my father and from those thoughts grew my rebellious spirit. Damn you father, look what you did. 

    I reached the tiny bird, pushing away thoughts of my not-so-nice past, and crouched down beside her. She looked up at me with fearful black eyes as I examined her, looking for what part was trapped.   
_"My left wing."_ She whispered with a nod.   
"Okay, um…?"   
_"Polienix."_ She responded, _"The ice/psychic bird Pokèmon ."_   
I felt the breath catch in my throat and for a moment I froze, caught in the trap of memory. 

_    "So, which Pokèmon is that?" My mother asked me, holding my hand with hers and pointing with the other.   
"Charmander!" I laughed, pointing at the book too, "And that's Squirtle and Oddish and Lapras and Sentret and Skurskit!"   
"Right!"   
    My mother's smile took up all of my vision. It was like the air was happy in her presence, like we were always bathed in a sunny yellow glow. Even when it rained, I was always happy around my mother. Father was stood in the corner, smiling to himself while he watched us. He never joined in, but that was because he preferred his own physical strength to that of the amazing creatures people caught in Pokèballs.   
    "Now," brushing a loose strand of her brown hair out of her face mum turned the page, "Which is that?"   
My five-yr-old eyes gleamed in excitement as I gazed lovingly at my favourite page. The background was dark blue and sparkling, a huge majestic bird spread across its width. The Pokèmon's feathers were a shimmering cross between sky blue and lilac, little thunderbolts of violet streaking across its body. It had a long tail and an impressive wingspan, its head held regally on a long swanlike neck. Its wings curved perfectly around the tiny bird before it; Polienix, and it was Articairion, the ice/psychic bird Pokèmon . 

    "Articairion!" Little kid me laughed, bouncing in my mother's lap and giggling, "When I grow up I'm gonna be the Pokèmon league champion and Articairion's gonna be the strongest Pokèmon ever 'cause I trained her!"   
"Of course she will." My mum agreed, that same smile still wrinkling the corners of her almond shaped eyes.   
"If our Raven chooses to become a Pokèmon trainer." Dad's deep voice added.   
"Of course I will daddy. To train Pokèmon is the bestest thing in the whoooole wiiiide world!"

_

    "Polienix…" I murmured.   
_"Huh?"_ Polienix looked up at me, _"What?"_   
"Ah," I shook myself, "Nothing much."   
The psychic/ice chick gave me a sceptical look as I reached for her wing, but let me lay my hands on her soft downy feathers. They felt just as I had imagined them, smooth, yet soft and icy cold. A little shiver vibrated down the wing as I did my best to remove it from its jammed position in between two gnarled roots so I stopped.   
    "Does that hurt?" I gave another slight pull.   
_"Yu huh."_ Polienix responded, tears of pain pooling in her brave eyes,_ "I kept pulling all day and now it hurts a lot…"_   
I nodded, "Okay, I'll just have to move the roots instead." My eyes were already scanning the base of the tree for a place that might be a weak spot, hungrily searching for a place to aim my kick.     _"You can do that?"_   
"My father trained me…"   
_"That's nice of him!"_ She interrupted.   
"…Against my will." I continued, glaring at her. 

    A little 'oh' was all she said in reply. Preparing myself I advised her to cover her face from splinters before aiming a slamming kick at the roots.   
"Hoooyii!!" I yelled, letting rip like I normally did in the arena.   
SMASH! The left root came free in a shower of splinters, bathing myself and the freed Polienix in sawdust. The little bird sneezed and hopped back a bit, her wing trailing in the dark dirt.   
    "Sorry." I apologised to the tree, "But what must be done, must be done."   
_"It's good of you to respect the forest," _Polienix decided,_ "So many other humans happily massacre us Pokèmon and ravage our beautiful home. Oo!"_   
She squeaked as an attempt to move her wounded wing sent jolts of pain through her body. I was down there in an instant, seeking any open wounds or obvious breaks. Sure, I'm not good with people, but I can spew my guts around Pokèmon without knowing that they were analysing my every move. There were no "Oh, what sad taste in fashion she has" or "She's got the worst figure I ever did see and the attitude to match" in the Pokèmon world. Here was my home… Just like I always dreamed as a kid. 

    _"Is it bad?" _Polienix questioned nervously, her black eyes darting from my face to the wing and back again.   
It was swelling quickly, forcing the feathers to stick out at odd angles, but I couldn't see any sign of a break. Still, just to be careful… I stood up and glanced around me. The moon had come out sometime during my memory burst a few minutes ago so now I could see relatively well.     _'Let's see, I left Malmarsh three days ago, running some of the way but also lying half dead for nearly eighteen hours. I'd say I was…'_   
I looked up from the bit of dirt my eyes had been boring into while I thought.   
"About half a mile from Route 39. That means the Pokèmon centre in Olivine…" I said out loud.   
_"Pokèmon centre? That's where the kind people heal us, isn't it?"_ Polienix inquired, a hopeful look shining in her eyes.   
"Yup. If I take you there Nurse Joy can heal you and then you're free to go, alright?"   
    Polienix looked overjoyed, her plump bird face practically glowing with gratitude. Without much delay I lifted her from the ground and placed her in my arms, being extra careful not to injure her wing any further. I would have run all the way if I weren't afraid of hurting my precious burden, so instead I walked, a little more careful on my feet than I was before since I no-longer had a free hand to catch me if I fell.   
    ½ a mile wasn't really far, not to my trained body, but suddenly the weight of the day was heavy on my shoulders and I felt my feet start to drag. But I held my head high and blinked away the sleepiness that was clouding my vision and skewing my perception. I never said there weren't good sides to my unnatural stubbornness… 

    After maybe fifteen minutes of walking I saw the first sign of human inhabitation: a flicker of light through the dense shielding of the trees. I quickened my pace and a sleepy Polienix shifted slightly in my arms.   
_"Are we nearly there yet?"_ She wondered, blinking droopy lids.   
"Almost." I replied.   
    As if on cue the forest started to thin out and eventually we were on a tame grass field that smelled strangely of cows. In fact, as I headed toward the field gate I found myself having to pick my way carefully so as to avoid stepping in a Miltank pat.   
_"Eww, what's that?"_ Polienix wanted to know, titling her head to aim an eye at one of the dark splodges on the ground.   
"Something that should be in a toilet, if Miltank were potty trained." I responded disgustedly, opening the gate with a loud creak. I flinched, someone **had** to have heard that from the house, but when I looked no old farmer with a rifle was headed my way and, hey, I wasn't complaining.   
    Now we were on the hard packed earth of a well used path and I couldn't help but smile at leaving that forest and its bogs behind. Sure, I was so tired I probably looked like some sort of zombie, but a Nurse Joy couldn't possibly refuse an injured Pokèmon, even if she chased me out with a broom shortly afterwards. Somehow, I couldn't see one of those kind hearted women doing that to anyone, even me. 

    _"I'm tired, Raven. I'm going to sleep."_ Polienix informed me just before her head flopped against my arm.   
I would have asked how she knew my name before I told her, but she was obviously worn and, besides, it was fairly obvious anyway. She _**was**_ part psychic, after all. I only wished I could sleep right now too… 

_Pokemon ©1995-2003 Nintendo, GAME FREAK Inc, Creatures Inc.   
Janera and all related creatures, items and landforms ©2002-2004 Obsidian Blade   
Emerald Fist and related plotlines and characters ©2003-2004 Obsidian Blade   
All rights reserved. Theft shall not be tolerated._


	3. Sugoi!

**Emerald Fist**

by **O**bsidian **B**lade 

** _Sugoi!_ **

    I lay on my back, sprawled across the wrinkled sheets of one of the Pokèmon centre's beds as I stared at the pale plaster of the ceiling. It was pristine white without a single chip, something I'm sure was due to the Chanseys and Blisseys running about the place. The wound a root had gored into my leg had been bound with gauze to stop the bleeding and I had taken a shower to remove the mud from my tired body. My clothes were in the wash so I was stuck wearing an oversized t-shirt and a pair of black spandex shorts Nurse Joy found somewhere around the centre but it didn't bother me much. As long as Polienix was safe and I wasn't being hunted through the muddy forest I was perfectly OK with the whole thing. It was, after all, a major upgrade.   
    But I couldn't sleep. My body was almost immobile with fatigue and my brain begged release from the hellish prison of consciousness, but there was something bothering me, something about the way Nurse Joy had looked at Polienix. _  
'Look Raven, forget it. Polienix is fine. Now SLEEP damn it! She's in the best of hands and you need to be in fighting condition unless your father appears here tomorrow looking for y-'_

    I shut that stupid little voice out of my mind and slid my protesting legs out of bed. How dumb am I, rejecting sleep after all that. Rubbing my eyes numbly on the back of my hands I shuffled out of the room and into the tiny corridor beyond the door. From here there were four different branches: 

- Door to behind the desk and the visitor area of the centre   
- Door to the staff (Pokèmon included) dorms   
- Door to the Pokèmon healing area   
- Door leading outside and to the outside stairs leading to the rest of the guest dorms 

    I went through the third door, into the Pokèmon healing room. A wave of the smell of antiseptic, bandages and medicine wafted over me as I stepped inside, making my eyes water a little. It was a small room, with the same immaculate neatness of the guest quarters I was staying in. The walls were lined with trolley beds for the smaller Pokèmon, getting larger towards the far end. Most were empty, but I could make out a Growlithe in the bed nearest to me, a Sentret across the room, a Manectric sprawled over two beds near the window and Polienix on her own in the far corner.   
    Keeping my steps light I padded over to Polienix's bed, stifling a yawn with one hand and trying to avoid bumping any of the fragile looking trolley beds. She was spread face down on the starched linen, her stubby blue wings open across the cot and her little head turned to the side. Her cheeks were a little flushed beneath her sapphire down and her yellow beak was open as she breathed. 

    I frowned, and reached out a tentative hand. Polienix's forehead was hot and damp, her breathing much less regular than I had thought now that I took a closer look. She moaned a bit at my touch and drew her wings inward protectively, the feathers along her back rising to make her look bigger than she was. My frown deepened as I realised how swollen the once-trapped wing was; hadn't Nurse Joy mended it properly? As far as I knew, the red haired women that ran the Pokèmon centres world-wide were the best healers anywhere. She couldn't possibly miss something as obvious as this, could she? 

    Polienix complained quietly again and I stroked her soft feathers with the back of my hand.   
"It'll be okay." I assured her, before turning and running back out of the room.   
Within seconds I had burst out into the warm brightness of the main Pokèmon centre, calling out for Nurse Joy or Chansey or Blissey or _anyone_. No reply. Well, not from the carers of injured Pokèmon, that is. 

    "Hey! You! My Totodile needs healing right now!" A man practically screamed, his sweaty red face thrust right in mine and spittle flying from his mouth splattering my front.   
    I wiped the foamy droplets away and pushed him back a ways, earning myself another earful and free shower. Doing my best to ignore him, I looked around at the seething mass of people occupying the waiting area of the centre. They were everywhere, sitting on the few seats while they nursed their sick Pokèmon, standing about in corners looking sullen, banging their fists on the desk and ringing the bell repeatedly and… ugh. Behind the counter was not a good place to be.   
    "And my Vulpix!"   
"Help Clefable!"   
"Politoed is really sick!"   
"What's wrong with this place?!"   
"Machoke needs assistance immediately!!!!" 

    As if to prove their point people were waving Pokèballs in the air, releasing Pokèmon left right and centre. The yelps of people as they were crushed into the walls and furniture by wounded creatures only added to the din. How I had avoided hearing them earlier was a plain miracle. And where was Nurse Joy anyway? She was supposed to take care of messes like this one!   
    "People!" I cried, but there was no way that was going to get attention.   
In a sudden burst of inspiration I yanked the megaphone Joy used on big events and clambered up onto the front desk, carefully avoiding people's hands as I did so.   
    "PEOPLE!" I yelled, then covered my mouth. So the megaphone amplified my voice a _little_ more than I expected… "We need to calm down." I continued in a lesser voice, "The Pokèmon with worse injuries need to be taken into the back IN AN ORDERLY FASHION," I glared at three young men trying to shove their way to the back at once, "And others are going to have to wait." 

    What was I doing? Even if I could get them all to do as I said, I didn't know a thing about medical help and I was too tired to think up something on short notice. Stupid Joy, stupid people, stupid Pokèmon, stupid… 2:30 a.m.? What the…?   
    I shifted my gaze from the squirming mass of people (currently trying to decide whose Pokèmon were in worse condition) to the neon green digital clock on the wall, its sharp glow impossible to mistake. Normal clocks are kind; they can be wrong to a certain number of minutes if you look at them from side on and give you a few needed minutes. Digital clocks, however, with their blaring green displays, perfect to the last second and impossible to 'accidentally misread', show no mercy. This one was no exception; it was definitely half past two in the morning. No ifs, ands, or buts. But… ahem… why were so many people up this early with their Pokèmon???   
    Okay, all that did was make my head buzz even heavier and my eyelids droop further towards the ground. I needed sleep….   
**"You need to take care of this mess first."**   
It wasn't even my fault in the first place! I didn't run the Pokèmon centre, it wasn't my problem… **  
"They expect you to. Polienix needs you too."**

    After all that, I didn't even start to worry about the fact that I was arguing with the voice in my head. And suddenly I wasn't really all _that_ tired, I mean, I'd stayed up 'till 2:30 before, no sweat! My veins seemed to be throbbing with enthusiasm, a steady beat that infused me with strength and stamina. It was like someone had given me a shot of pure sugar right in the head.   
    Raising the megaphone to my mouth I started belting out orders as I leapt down from the desk into the crowd. My vocal cords must have been running wild, because I never would have done that.   
"Okay! Sort yourselves out people! That Sandshrew you've got there sir, take him right on though. Hmm, that Blastoise looks like she's in a bad way, but there's no room out back… Keep her in here and remember you've got priority!" There were some things I hardly had to say twice, really… 

    As I rang out command after command after command, the title 'Centre General' creeping into my head, I walked back and forth among the people and their Pokèmon, getting a good look at each. Some were in okay condition, some bad, but what really stood out was a bite mark I picked out on each. It was large and probably coming from a dog Pokèmon if the thick canines proved anything. Was it possible that this many people were attacked by one creature?   
    I shook my head, I could think about all of this _later_, right now I had to calm down all these people and get their Pokèmon in safer places. Switching my full attention to carrying out that mission, I continued to walk. Finally I reached the back wall of the centre and was about to start back when something, more someone, caught my attention.   
    It was a little girl, maybe five or six, dressed all in deep purple with her thick black hair trailing over her shoulders and swaying in the air beneath her bowed head. She had something in her lap that was holding her attention completely, but what it was I really couldn't see. Suddenly she looked up, eyes locking on me. A wave of horror hit me as I saw those eyes, swirling orbs of blue and black that seemed to penetrate every boundary and seep into the depths of my soul. 

    "Raven," She said softly, "Come here."   
Her voice was high and sweet, too sweet to be anything natural, but I found my feet walking on their own.   
"Mummy told me to give you these."   
She held out what she had been holding and I saw it was a sort of pendant. The chain was mad of black steel, flashes of silver glinting through in the light, and connected to a lump of the same material moulded into a pentagon. In the centre a black gem had been laid, the light shining through it and reflecting weirdly on the inside facets. Later I'd wonder if it were possible to have inside facets, but right now all I could do was hold out my hand.   
    The girl giggled and upended the pendant into my hand. It was cold and smooth in my palm, soothing my frayed senses and sharpening my vision. _'Wow,'_ I thought to myself, _'What is this thing…'_   
"Wear it." The little girl ordered, tilting her head slightly to the side, "And take this."   
She handed me something small and round before getting up and running out of the Pokèmon centre into the night, a trail of echoy giggles following her out. 

    I blinked, my senses finally returning to normal, and looked down at what I now held in my left hand. It was a Pokèball, but looked like it had been made out of metallic sky blue. On the top half were carved the shape of two wings and as I took another look I realised that the inner planes of the cut were still light and dusty, like the Pokèball had been made quickly so the craftsman hadn't had the time to finish it properly. Still, I realised as I turned the thing over in my hand, it had to be worth quite a lot. Why had she given it to me?? And what about the- 

    "Hey! My Pokèmon needs healing **now**!" A slightly nasal voice shouted, seconds before a young man burst into the centre.   
He looked about in confusion at all the other people queuing about before his dark eyes settled on me and the megaphone in my hand. Immediately he headed over until we were practically nose to nose. He was wearing a blue tunic that hung halfway to his knees and black trousers dug hastily into the tops of brown boots. Around his neck hung a green and yellow circle, dangling on the end of a copper chain.   
    "Well?!" He demanded, lifting a hand in impatience, "You're the one in charge here, right?"   
"Well…" I began, but he cut through my sentence with his own, flicking a chunk of brown hair out of his eyes.   
"Well what?! This place is pandemonium! Can't we at least get a decent nurse in charge?!" 

    Suddenly a name flicked into my mind. Apparently my subconscious mind had been mulling it over the whole time, because it knew now. Gary Oak. Relation of Prof Oak and the leader of Viridian gym. What was _he _doing over here in Johto, and why now, of all times? Really, I wouldn't mind meeting such an esteemed Pokèmon trainer, but why _now?_   
    "Look, I'm not a nurse." I said as calmly as I could, "I'm just trying to get things under control until Nurse Joy or Blissey gets back and-"   
"Gets back from where?!" Man, this guy was a hothead.   
_"~Raven, what's going on? It's hot…~"_

    My head jerked from the angry trainer's head to the door leading to the sick room. The people separating us were doing as I had asked, checking each Pokèmon as they weighed injury against injury. But that didn't matter. What did was the health of a little bird Pokèmon, ailing in the back room, who was the only one without a trainer to watch over her. I had to get to her.   
    Gym Leader or know, I shoved Gary aside and strode off toward that room with a determined stride, dropping the black amulet over my head and tightening my grip on the shiny Pokèball. The angry trainer from Pallet town's complaints didn't even reach my ears, bouncing off my insult deflector shields like flies on a windscreen. The people stepped aside as I approached, seeming to detect my current demeanour. Either that or they had set me as leader and decided that I needed at least a little respect, I don't know. 

    I burst through the door into the cot-line room, making a bee-line to the small bed in the far corner. Some other trainers and their wounded Pokèmon were already present, along with a chocolate-skinned man with thick black hair braided close to his head and a long white lab coat flowing from his shoulders, but I ignored them. Polienix was all that mattered now.   
    I leant over the bed for a good look at the ice/psychic bird and was greeted by a pair of glassy black eyes, soft, feathery down plastered to a fragile skull and a breath that rattled in her throat. Tentatively I reached out a hand, almost too afraid of what I might feel to make the connection, and gently brushed Polienix's head. Heat radiated from the little bird's body at a temperature dangerously high for an ice type Pokèmon and I couldn't help but let out a gasp.   
    What could I do now? I was a fighter, not a healer, and there was no Nurse Joy in sight. Whatever had called her away had to have been urgent, there was no other explanation for leaving Polienix in this state. Damn, if that tiny bird died just then I didn't now what I would do. After the walk through the forest, accompanied by the comments in her babyish voice, and saving her from the tree I felt as if I had… bonded with her somehow. She couldn't just leave me like everyone else, mother father Elliot Samantha, had done! 

    A rich voice, thick like honey, drew me out of my painful thoughts.   
"Is this your Pokèmon?"   
It was the black man in the lab coat I had glimpsed seconds before, his strong brow furrowed in a deep frown as he gazed upon Polienix.   
"No." I replied, my voice surprisingly steady, "But I saved her in the forest and brought her here so she wouldn't die, so I guess she's my responsibility."   
    "Just your responsibility?"   
"Perhaps not." Hope swirled its way up in my chest, "Can you heal her?"   
He shook his head apologetically, "No. I'm just a professor, not a nurse."   
"Oh."   
    A Prof, huh? Looked like the Pokèmon centre was turning into a regular Hollywood for famous Pokèmon people. I sighed, a shame none of them could help out one little bird… The professor's heavy hand patted my shoulder before he turned away and headed over to check up on a newcomer to the room. It was a redhead woman's Arbok, its great hooded head resting on its trainer's shoulder as she moved it along. It was fairly badly hurt, but not fatally.   
    I returned my gaze to its place on Polienix's troubled form, everything starting to blur with salty liquid. A drop escaped one eye, pattering softly on my hand. Out of pure habit I reached up and lapped it away, nearly bobbing myself on the nose with the special ball I held tight. 

    "Wow, is that a Regenball?" A voice wondered excitedly as a brown head appeared at my elbow.   
The owner of the head tilted it back to reveal a youthful face, glowing with undying enthusiasm despite the late hour. Apparently the kid wasn't affected by late nights, he looked like he could run a mile without needing rest.   
"A what?" I asked, thoroughly baffled.   
"A _Regenball_," He responded, rolling his eyes, "You've got to know what one is to have bothered to spend all that money buying one."   
    "Well I…"   
Another roll of the eyes. "Regenballs are the newest product from Devon Corp. in Hoenn. You return your Pokèmon into it and then walk about. For each step you take your Pokèmon recovers 10HP. Since you don't know that you're stuuuuuupid." 

    I was too busy gaping to respond to the childish insult. _…recovers 10HP… just return your Pokèmon … _Was it possible that that little girl had somehow known that I needed something like this? Could she have meant for me to capture Polienix and save her life with the Regenball?   
    I shook my head furiously and aimed the high-tech Pokèball at the shuddering form of Polienix. My grip was sweaty, my arm wavering with lack of confidence. I'd seen trainers do this before, why was it so hard to do it myself? The prospect of failure. That was why. Because my damn father had taught me that to lose was to disgrace your name I just couldn't face messing this up. But I had to do this, for Polienix, for my life free of my dad's tyranny. 

    "You're mine, Poli-"   
"What're you doing?!" A familiar voice demanded hotly.   
I caught myself in mid throw, the Regenball shivering at the tips of my fingers, and looked over my shoulder at the newcomer to the room. There, framed by the golden light of the room beyond, stood the haughty figure of Gary Oak.   
    "A Pokèdex-less person can't become a trainer, girl." He continued with a shrug, "So that won't work."   
"If she gets a Pokèdex it will!" The boy who had informed me about the Regenball insisted.   
"But that's not likely to happen so why don't you just give that little Polienix there to me?" The redhead with the Arbok suggested, batting long eyelashes over her green eyes.   
    "But you don't have a Regenball so Polienix wouldn't get healed!" He retorted fiercely.   
The woman drew herself up to her full height, tugging the thick blue blanket she clutched around her shoulders out from under the wheel of one of the cots.   
"Maybe I do!" She snapped, "How would you know little boy?!"   
"Well I-" 

    Their argument continued on while Gary retreated back to the main room and I let myself droop in defeat.   
"Hey," That rich voice intoned, "You might want this."   
I dragged my eyes from the bird Pokèmon all these people were squawking about to look up at the professor. I nearly whooped when I saw what he held.   
    Swamped by the Prof's huge strong hands sat a slim silver machine, complete with the opening front flap and flashing blue light on the top right hand corner. A Pokèdex, a Pokèdex he was offering to me, of all people. I snatched it from him, all my manners disappearing as I ran my hands over the sleek object, flipping it open and drinking in the metallic sound of its computerised voice.   
    "Consider yourself a trainer instated by Professor Darkwood of Ecruteak." He told me, smiling at my eager approach to it all. Apparently lots of trainers before me had been so rude, because it didn't seem to faze him.   
"TRAINER NAME???" The Pokèdex implored, the screen lighting up and casting blue hues across my face.   
"Raven Thomas of Malmarsh." I squeaked back excitedly, almost as hyper as the boy dukeing it out with the redhead.   
"ID no 114790. TRAINER ID STORED." 

    The amazing little machine had barely finished speaking when I was throwing that Regenball at Polienix and watching her being absorbed into its silvery blue depths in a stream of crimson light. The Pokèball rocked twice before coming to a halt. As ill as she was, I was surprised Polienix could even put up that kind of a fight. 

    "A TIMID CREATURE RARELY SEEN DURING THE DAY AND NEVER FOUND AT NIGHT. IT IS SAID THAT ITS TAIL FEATHERS GIVE THE HOLDER THE POWER TO READ THE MINDS OF OTHERS." My new Pokèdex croaked, a statistics bar appearing at the top of the screen. 

^8^ Polienix LV. 7   
**=**-------------   
HP: 2/31 (F) 

    "I think you should take a quick jog." The little boy suggested, standing precariously on one of the cots to peer over my shoulder.   
"Yeah, you're right." I replied with a quick nod, starting towards the door.   
A strong frame blocked the exit, "Not outside." Prof Darkwood decided, "It's not safe." He glanced around at the others, whose attention was suddenly trained on him, "You don't think the Pokèmon centre normally gets this jammed, do you?"   
    I shook my head, no, but still pushed through.   
"Look, I'll be careful." I comforted the others, trying to block out their pained expressions as I let the door swing shut, "I can fight." I added to myself as I passed Gary and stepped out into the night. 

    The darkness swirled around me, seeming to convulse like a living creature as I started off at a slow jogging pace. The moon was out again, picking out my steamy breath with silver threads of light as I moved along. Call me foolish, stupid, just plain dumb for going out there, especially when my fatigue was just beginning to creep back, but I had to get Polienix into a stable state before I could turn in to bed. It would take less time outside, particularly if whatever Darkwood had been warning me about decided to take after my trail.   
    I ran undisturbed for twenty minutes, occasionally checking on Polienix's health with the Pokèdex as I chugged along. Goosebumps had sprouted along my arms and if I had been tired before… Well, it was nothing compared to what I felt now. My gait had slowed from running to jogging to slow jogging to stumbling on like a Spheal on land, so I decided it was time to turn back. 'Lienix had more than half health, so she'd be okay until morning when I was rested well enough to get back to work.   
    I was just outside Olivine, the harsh breeze off the ocean chilling me to the bone, when I tripped and fell to my hands and knees over something in the path. Cursing up a storm as I examined the searing scrapes across my palms and shins I brushed the dirt from my raw skin before turning to take a good look at whatever stupid root dared trip me up. 

I froze. 

That wasn't a root. 

It was a leg. 

* * *

Cliffy! Tell me, is you peoples clinging to the edge of your seats or thinking 'thank god it's over'? I'm sorta hoping that's option one, but you peepos are entitled to your opinions... Now, to the reviews... 

Phoenix Rising: Yuppers, Polienix belongs to me, as do I number of other things I should be putting in a... d'oh! Disclamier! Eeeep eep eep! Must put one of them in next chapter! ^_^' Thanx for the review! 

DarkAngelTorchic: Woopers! It's someone I know! Thanks for even _more_ praise! ^_^ Hope this chapter was okay, if a little long... 

Pheonix Burst: Good. I was wondering how long it would take you. :p And, jeez, what's with all the super dooper (@_@) praisy stuff? Not that I don't like it, but you go into so much detail! Thankies! 

Siara Angel: Yo peppers, what's with the music??? Are you religious now?!?!?! *ahem* Now, no being mean about Cassie, she never did nothing to you! ::sniggers:: Anyway,thanks for the review oh not-really-beta-anymore! I shall update again... later... so you have to wait like all the other peepos! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 

_Pokemon ©1995-2003 Nintendo, GAME FREAK Inc, Creatures Inc.   
Janera and all related creatures, items and landforms ©2002-2004 Obsidian Blade   
Emerald Fist and related plotlines and characters ©2003-2004 Obsidian Blade   
All rights reserved. Theft shall not be tolerated._


	4. Mastermind and Metal head

**Emerald Fist**

by **O**bsidian **B**lade 

**_Mastermind and Metal head_**

    I bit back a scream, terrified eyes fixated on the white tights that covered the slender leg I had tripped over. Was that… Could it be… I wound the chain of my pendant around the front circle of Polienix's Pokèball, securing it with a quick tug, before getting onto my skinned hands and knees and crawling forward into the bush that hid the rest of whoever's body. 

Why am I such an idiot? 

    Any _smart _person would have gone and got an officer Jenny on the scene, but what do I do? Go and stick my great big nose in it. 

    I crawled through the first prickly barrier of sharp sticks and leaves, following the line of the body the whole time, until I came to the end and found myself in a sort of dark, leafy prison. What lay beside me was undeniably Nurse Joy, a hurt Caterpie clasped to her chest. To my relief she was still breathing and only seemed to be unconscious by a nasty bump to the side of her head.   
    I leant over her prone body, checking for anything that I might have missed during my first look when something rustled to my left. My head snapped up, amber eyes scanning the surrounding patch of bushes and trees along the side of the path, but my senses were greeted only by the harsh cold of the air and the crooked shadows of a tree's branches. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, but turned back to Joy, aiming to carry her on my back to the safe refuge of the Pokèmon centre.   
    I was just about to lift her fragile form over my shoulder when I was once again bombarded by the sensation of being watched. **And this time I knew I wasn't alone.**

    I had crawled through a thick wall of spiky bush to get to where I was right now, in a clearing of sorts with a birch tree left and a bit behind me and surrounded by dark shadowy undergrowth. In the periphery of the area I was sure something was moving, large heavy footsteps circling and circling, getting closer through the darkness. I snapped up to my feet, turning on the spot as my daytime eyes searched in vain through the darkness of the night for any proof of movement. 

    CRACK, SNAP, CRICK, CRUNCH, SNAP. 

I spun wildly, my senses elevated by fear and thick hair tickling my cheek like an insistent child. 

CRICK, CRACK, SNAP, CRUNCH, CRACK. 

There! A shadow brushing past the single tree! It disappeared back into the darkness, but I was sure that it was **larger than your average car**, and if I hadn't known better I would have sworn I had seen a flash of sheer silver in the moonlight. 

CRACK, CRUNCH, SNAP. 

    I strained my ears for the continuation of the footfalls of the huge monstrosity, but no further sound came. It had either stopped moving or was simply being stealthy. I figured it was somewhere in front of me, on the side furthest from the road, so I backed the way I had came, bending over to catch Joy by the wrist and pull her away over the ground. Sorry, nurse, but better cut and bruised than dead-   
    FWOOSH, a strong gust of iron-smelling air forced its way into my ear, accompanied by something cold and wet. I yelped and fell forward, redirecting my flight with a hand so as to avoid crushing Nurse Joy. I landed treeside of her and scrambled onto hands, heels and arse to avoid baring my neck to whatever had been tracking me.   
    That whatever now towered before my fallen body, a huge black wolf with shaggy fur that blew in the wind. It glared at me through deep-set, forward facing red eyes that glinted menacingly in the moonlight reflected by the Regenball around my neck and let out a grating, almost metallic, growl, taking one step forward on its huge heavy paws.   
    It was then that I again caught sight of something shining in the thick fur of its legs. A flash of silver drew my attention even further and I realised there were hinged metal rods running from the base and top of each paw to front and behind the knee joint. Although I couldn't actually see them through the forest of obsidian fur, I was sure that similar mechanics connected the legs to the body. What was this thing, some sort of machine? Or perhaps a… 

    I scrambled backwards further, using the heels of both my hands and feet to propel me away from that _thing_ until my back made hard contact with a tree. I gulped, realising that I was trapped, and pulled out my Pokèdex. It was a sort of spontaneous thing to do, but I had the sneaking suspicion that the towering monster before me was a Pokèmon. Perhaps surprisingly, I was right. 

    "MECHYENA, THE STEEL WOLF POKÈMON. THIS POKÈMON WAS CREATED FROM ITS PREDECESSOR, MIGHTYENA, BY SCIENTISTS FOR THE CRIMINAL GROUP, EMERALD. ITS JAWS ARE SO STRONG THEY CAN BITE THROUGH SMALL CARS." The Pokèdex told me in its normal monotone voice, the blue light flashing with each syllable.   
"Oh great," I muttered, "Just what I wanted to hear."   
    From my position cowering beneath it on the ground Mechyena certainly looked big enough to bite through a Mini or two. Comparing it to the lone tree I was backed up against I'd say it was seven, eight feet tall at the shoulder, its muzzle maybe a foot and a bit across. It would take more than one bite, certainly but… Wait, what was I thinking?! Whether this damn thing could eat a Mini or not didn't matter right now, I needed to figure out a way to save myself, Joy and that Caterpie, not to mention Polienix in her Pokèball, something I was sure would take every ounce of intellect I possessed.   
    As Mechyena moved even closer, taking its time for maximum fear factor I guess, my eyes flickered over everything around me. Most obvious would be to grab Joy and Caterpie and run, but I was ready to bet that Mechyena was at least four times my normal speed and carrying someone else really wouldn't help. There was also the tree I could climb to shout for help, but chances were no-one was close enough to hear and Mechyena would just tear down the tree to get at me. 

    My mind sifted through butt loads of escape routes, but all seemed to end in a nasty trip into Mechyena's jaws. As I sat there, shivering with fear and wondering if I should have stayed with my father a month more, I prepared myself for the worst. Now scarcely more than five feet away (I had scrambled further than I had originally realised), Mechyena bared silver steel teeth and leaned back a little, its red eyes flashing amber for a split second before it leapt.   
    I was too scared to scream. In a last dying hope of at least saving someone, I hurled Polienix in her Regenball away from me into the bushes and pulled my arms up to cover my face. Time seemed to slow as the huge black dog soared toward my weakly protected body, huge paws and metal claws reaching for my face, aiming to rip and tear and maim.   
    Suddenly a fresh burst of adrenaline shot through my veins, so much it hurt my muscles to stay still, and I rolled fast to the right, grabbing Polienix's Pokèball and stumbling to keep on my feet. I tore my way through the bushes just as I heard Mechyena hit the ground with a loud thud and a flurry of dirt and leaves. And then I was out in the open, **the lights of Olivine shining like a huge welcoming beacon** as I sprinted full speed towards them. 

    Never before in my life have I run that fast. The wind ripped at my hair and oversized t-shirt, the freezing cold temperature flaying the skin on my face and arms like a thousand whips. My feet barely seemed to touch the dark dirt that flew away underneath me and I could only hope that there was nothing to trip me because I probably couldn't have altered course to avoid it.   
    There was a roar of ripping leaves behind me and then Mechyena was on the path, its giant paws beating out a face-paced rhythm against the hard packed soil. It only took a matter of seconds before I knew it was right behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, tripped over my own feet and skidded along the ground, the bandage and scab covering the wound from yesterday torn away and replaced by a bloody mess.   
    The huge wolf-like Pokèmon threw itself through the air just as I turned onto my back to be able to see it, its huge front feet slamming into my shoulder and the ground on impact. I screamed as I loud crack issued from my collarbone, the pain almost unbearable. For a split second I was sure I was going to faint, but I clung onto consciousness like a Hitmonchan in the ring just like my father had taught me many years before. To lose consciousness was to lose life here, that was for certain.   
    Mechyena glared down at me, its weight crushing my broken shoulder further, and then shot its head at my face and exposed neck. I did the only thing I could think of: kick it in the snout. My foot made harsh contact with the very wet, very living nose of the huge dog, making it rear back a bit in surprise. There was no way that kick could have hurt it from the position I was in on the ground, but I doubted many of Mechyena's other victims struck back so what I had done had confused the beast to no end. 

    Taking advantage of its surprise and the lessened weight on my shoulder I tugged myself out from underneath it and started running again, the pain so bad that things around me started to blur with the tears I refused to let fall. I had to get back to Olivine, had to live, had to get a search party of strong trainers (or simply foolish ones) out to rescue Nurse Joy…   
    "GUROAWR!" Mechyena's booming machine-enhanced voice roared as it steps sounded up again. "Get down!" A familiar voice from the Pokèmon centre ordered mere seconds later. I didn't question, I ducked. Why? Well, it might have been due to the barrage of Arcanine flame coiling and burning in my direction. Unless, of course, you'd prefer to believe that I simply **felt like being a good little muffin** at that particular moment.   
    A sharp yip of pain pierced the cold, dark air as the deadly Firewall attack sent Mechyena retreating fast and squealing like a puppy Poochyena.   
_'Steel type is vulnerable to fire.'_ The part of my brain that wasn't fried with fear pointed out. The rest of me was now absolutely drained from the incredible adrenaline rush that had saved my life. 

    The last thing I saw before sleep finally took me and my head hit the soil was Nurse Joy and the Caterpie being carried to safety by the wounded Machoke I had seen earlier in the Pokèmon centre. The adrenaline rush had obviously saved more than just me… 

* * *

_    There was a desk and there was a lamp. A chair inhabited the space behind the desk, its high back projecting power around the room like only someone of great importance could. Other than that everything in the room was purely there for looks.   
    The silken forest green carpet, accented perfectly by the medium toned wood trimmings and furniture, wasn't there for comfort on the feet as no-one entered without their shoes. The framed images on the walls -old advertisements for department store sales, a list of the league champions from the last one hundred years, a boy with his Poochyena- they were simply to make entrants feel slightly more at home. The bottles of Vodka and Gin, some sort of drink that looked insanely expensive but the label was too withered and old to read, were never moved from their pristine glass-faced cabinet. Their owner didn't drink. 

    Mechyena, as it staggered towards that room with its fur singed and smoking, still a little damp from the plunge in a river to put out the flames, didn't know any of those things. All that mattered to it was Master, Master was there. It had to get to Master; Master would make it all right again. Master wouldn't mind that it had failed… 

Not this time at least. 

_

* * *

    When I came around again I was in a sunlit room spread out over a warm bed and covered by wrinkled sheets. The blinds were drawn over the three windows but they were too thin to make a difference in the lighting. Scrubbing my sleepy dust-sealed eyes I rolled over to find myself face to face with the head of a certain blue bird.   
    _"Raven! You're awake!"_ Polienix squealed in delight.   
I was quite tempted to roll back over and ignore her, there's nothing I hate more than a happy face in the morning, but there was something I needed to know. Well, actually, many somethings. 

    "Pol, how long have I been sleeping for?" I inquired, stifling a morning yawn.   
_"Three days, seven hours and eleven minutes."_ She replied cheerfully, _"It's now 10:23."_   
Trying to cover my surprise (I didn't know I _could _sleep that long in truth) I sat up and stretched my arms over my head. "And is everything else okay now?"   
More cheerfulness. 

    _"Yup, Joy wasn't even concussed so when she woke up and took Blissey and Chansey out of the closet the Pokèmon centre was back up and ru-"_   
"In the _closet_?" I interrupted disbelievingly, "How'd she get there?" _  
"Oh, some men came in and tied up Blissey and Chansey,"_ She explained, _"Stuffed them in a closet, then took away Nurse Joy and the Caterpie she was looking after. Officer Jenny came here to investigate earlier and she wants to talk with you when you wake up."_

    I could practically hear the cogs in my half-asleep brain clicking and clunking as they tried to keep up with this barrage of new information. Officer Jenny? Interview me? _**NOW?!**_   
"Could you tell them to wait a while when you tell everyone I'm awake?" I begged Polienix.   
_"Okay Raven."_ Her dark eyes sparkled happily,_ "Bye."_   
    Before I could even open my mouth to return the temporary farewell she had opened both fully healed wings and sped away down the stairs. I sighed and got up, nearly falling over when I realised both my legs were dead. After much rubbing and pampering I regained the feeling in both limbs and lurched out the door like I'd been injected with the T-virus* or something. One glance back caught me the sight of some clothing spread out on one of the chairs in the room. Obviously someone had decided it was time for me to wear something better than a huge white t-shirt and spandex, a thought I certainly didn't regret them having.   
    After succeeding in getting over to the chair I held the garments up to see and nodded in appreciation. In my hands I held a pair of hipster black combats, a navy blue t-shirt with sleeves that stopped just above the elbow and my own underwear, cleaned after the bog incident. Pretty much what I would have chosen, which was good. 

    Tossing the new outfit over my forearm I left the room and entered the small bathroom. I was on the upper floor now, if you're wondering where the bathroom came from, so there were facilities for longer-staying trainers.   
"Trainers."   
I slipped the word over my tongue, liking the sound of it.   
"Raven the trainer."   
Okay, it was my dream, but right now the cynical side of my brain was complaining about being a shoe. Stupid mind.   
    The bathroom was small and a bit cramped, but as sparkly clean as the rest of the place. There was a shower stall in the corner opposite the door that stood beside a window on the same wall. Right in front of the entrance sat a porcelain sink complete with mirror and mat and across from that sat the toilet. There was about a three foot space separating them all.   
    As I passed it I glanced momentarily in the mirror, scowling at my messy black hair with its red tints and dull amber eyes. Some people would probably kill for those eyes, but in my face they seemed to clash with everything from my under-sized nose to stupid broad mouth. Stupid face.   
    I turned away from the mirror and stripped down before stepping into the near boiling water of the shower and cleansing my half-healed scabs. It was painful at first, but I soon got over that and allowed myself to enjoy the massaging effects on my coiled muscles. If there's one thing I can guarantee you in life, it's that there's nothing better than a steamy shower after an unwanted encounter with a Mechyena On A Mission and a three day sleep. Absolutely nothing. 

Except perhaps waffles. 

* [T-virus] The disease in _Resident Evil_ that transforms people into zombies. 

* * *

Yes, that's my secret, I love waffles. Steamy hot with maple syrup, yuuuummmmm... Unfortunately, I have yet to see a decent waffle over here in England, so I'll just settle with GREGS food. Yuuuuummmm, GREGS...   
^_^'   
Well, anyway, I'm glad to hear that my reviewers are enjoying this so far! I wrote this particular chapter in an amazing **one day**, but don't expect updates to normally come that fast. I tend to take ages to write this stuff usually. Oh, and if anyone is wondering about the seemingly random bold text, that's a trick I picked up from the FEARLESS series by Francine Pascal (own I do not) that sometimes seems to leap into my work. -_-' Just ignore it if it bothers you, either that or complain, I'll make extra effort to stop.   
To the reviewers: 

Phoenix Burst: Good. I like your super long reviews. Very ego-boosting... I may even finish Crono Leap if you keep it up!! Anyway, you have too many questions so I'll answer in numbers.   
1) Hee hee, ya'll have to wait, Bird Boy. ::snigger::   
2) Ditto answer 1).   
3) I'm not adding Supernatural to the genre, because I need room for Drama and Action/Adventure, but you could consider it a side-genre type thing.   
4) And now you know. Silly boy, don't ask what the next chapter will probably answer, I'm not about to e-mail you hints or anything, it spoils any suspense! 

KekeKWHA! I throw doops at you... (a.k.a. The GREAT Dooping Marauder): So how are your turkey followers? I hope they're fat, I need one to sacrifice to prove to my people that I am a good and strong leader (apparently they were running after the car in the hope that they see me shoot a deer with a Beetle (the car). Please, don't ask. Just send the turkey, A.S.A.P! 

P.S. I'll put in as many cliffies as I like! It adds to the fic! 

Pheonix Rising: w00t! Thanks for al the praise! Yes, the Pokeball belongs to me, but other authors are perfectly allowed to use it if they give me credit. From now on I'm actually going to include disclaimers/claimers to make things easier. And thanks for taking option 2! That makes me much happier! I'll update again as soon as I can. 

There, now, to all those people reading,   
DON'T CLICK 'BACK', CLICK 'REVIEW'! ALL YOU'VE GOT TO DO IS PRESS THE BUTTON! 

    |     |     |     \/ 

_Pokemon ©1995-2003 Nintendo, GAME FREAK Inc, Creatures Inc.   
Janera and all related creatures, items and landforms ©2002-2004 Obsidian Blade   
Emerald Fist and related plotlines and characters ©2003-2004 Obsidian Blade   
All rights reserved. Theft shall not be tolerated._


	5. The wrong fish

**Emerald Fist**

by **O**bsidian **B**lade 

_**B.A.F**_

    "We think it might have been deployed by a criminal gang by the name of emerald… You've got to be careful."   
"Just don't overwork that arm, it looks healed but it won't be if you do anything too stressful."   
Was it just me, or was everyone thinking that the world wanted my head on a platter? 

    I was walking down the dusty path of Route 38, my stomach happily full of lovely warm waffle. My nasty experience with Mechyena still hung heavy in my mind, but the sun was high in the sky leaving nothing to imagination. There was nothing for me to be afraid of really, despite Jenny's numerous warnings about the possibility of a Team Rocket wanna be gang out to get me. Like I said earlier, nothing to lose, no fear.   
    But now I _did_ have something to lose. My trainership, Polienix, the new-found freedom that now filled out my life. I guess my mind was just still coming to terms with it all; _then_ I'd be scared. Like Polienix. 

    She was sat on my shoulder, her dark eyes flashing to the undergrowth on either side of the path. I guess being other Pokèmon's dinner in the wild really doesn't help your nerves.   
_"Raven?"_ She whined for what seemed like the seven-millionth time, _"Are we almost out of here? I don't like this place…"_   
"We're already away from 'that place'." I replied patiently, "This is the next route on."   
_"But it feels the same…"_

    I sighed and was about to continue onto step 5 of 'Comfort Polienix' when I caught sight of a flash of red and green through the corner of my eye. I stopped and turned in that direction, searching the dark leaved bushes for any sign of life. _  
"What is i-"_ Polienix was cut off by a loud ZING! as a huge dragonfly shot past her head and turned in the air for a good look.   
    It hovered a good eight feet from the ground, its filmy wings little more than a blur through the air as they beat to keep their owner up. The body of the insect was long and coloured a deep crimson, as was the large head that cocked to the side as bulbous green eyes studied me intently.   
    The crackling noise as I undid the velcro of one of my pockets only made bug-thing move a little closer in interest, the movement of my hand as it groped for my Pokèdex and flicked it open having the same effect. "YANMA, THE DRAGONFLY POKÈMON." The machine told me, "FFFO9HHHJSEYTTBASDF JFGITNSAKJVVVMWWER OGHJMFTY." I blinked, _'What..?' _

    "Um, Raven? That didn't sound like Pokèdex data to me." Polienix commented.   
"No kidding." I muttered, "But if it's a Yanma…"   
I had to admit that seeing a wild Yanma all the way out here was far from normal, but hey, what trainer passes up the chance to capture a new Pokèmon?   
    It had buzzed a bit closer, now maybe 8 feet away, by the time I loosened one of the Pokèballs Professor Darkwood had given me from the clip on my hip and ordered Polienix into the air. The ice/psychic bird looked nervous (even more so than before) since this was her first battle but I was sure she could win. In a catching sense, that is. 

    "Right."   
I hit the 'battle' button on my malfunctioning Pokèdex and crossed my fingers. To an advanced trainer it wouldn't have mattered that much, but I hadn't a clue what Polienix new for moves which would equal total disaster. The screen fizzed and rippled the image before settling with a soft clunk. I let out a sigh of relief. It looked like I was running out of bad luck, something_ I_ sure wasn't complaining about. 

    **POLIENIX**

SCRATCH   
NORMAL - POWER: 40 - ACCURACY: 100 - PP: 35/35 

**PECK**   
FLYING -- POWER: 35 - ACCURACY: 100 - PP: 35/35 

    I smiled, not too hard, and was about to order a quick Scratch before Yanma could react when another thought hit me. Type advantage perhaps? Bugs --- Flying. Right. Okay.   
"Polienix, Peck attack!" I ordered.   
_"Right on it!"_ She replied, beating her wings hard to gain the momentum needed to carry out my order.   
    "Riiimyaaa!" Yanma buzzed as my Pokèmon rammed its side with her sharp beak. She pulled back, riding the wind high into the sky before hurtling down at neck-breaking speed and raping her sharp talons across the dragonfly's soft body. Our opponent let out a screech of pain and terror and suddenly I felt guilty about injuring it. It had never occurred to me before, that Pokèmon battling meant wounding you opponent as badly as any martial arts tournament. It was almost… cruelty.   
    _  
"Catch it, Raven!"_ Polienix called from the branch of a tree she had landed on.   
I smirked and the Pokèball grew in my hand, ready to catch this misplaced creature. 

    With a flick of my wrist I sent the Pokèball hurtling into the air where it flicked open, ready to suck Yanma inside…   
"Dour!"   
"Yaaamaaa!"   
    The would-have-been-mine red dragonfly dove to avoid the streak of black and red shooting toward it. The tip of its tail brushed the path, the high speed of its beating wings sending up huge clouds of dust into the air as it curved off and disappeared into the woods. By the time the smoke cleared the Pokèball had hit the ground, rocked back and forth a few times and stopped with a CLUNK!   
    _"Umm, Raven?"_ Polienix left the tree branch and hovered over my shoulder, _"What did you just catch?"_   
"Don't ask me!" I cried, picking up my new creature.  
For all I knew it could be a gosh darn doughnut, I'd seen it happen before. Silently wishing that my bad luck really _had_ run out I held up the Pokèball.   
"Pokèball go!" 

    Bright red light shot from the front of the capturing tool, pooling on the ground and forming the shape of a…   
"Dour!" The black puppy exclaimed, "Houooodour!"   
He stood almost to my knee, his muzzle and underbelly coloured with dark orange/red fur. The rest of his body was black apart from the silver of two broad raised stripes across his back, the skull-like shape on his forehead and the rings around his heavy-built legs. From his short tail to blunt nose, what stood before me was definitely Houndour. 

    I knelt in the dust and held out a hand for my new Pokèmon to inspect - hey, it's what my mother taught me to do when I met strange dogs. He shifted onto the front half of his paws, hackles rising as he bared sharp teeth at me. I didn't draw back, heck, if I can out-move the best fighter's in my father's gym one little untrained Houndour didn't stand a chance in OW!   
    "Yow! Get off me, you little blighter!" I exclaimed, trying to pull my hand out of his mouth. Without much effect.   
"Daur!" Houndour growled through his teeth and gave a harsh tug.   
"Hey! OW!"   
Since I was crouching on the balls of my feet, Houndour's tug got me straight off balance and face first into the dirt, spluttering and coughing out the numerous new names I had just come up with for him. Completely ignorant of what I was saying, Houndour (now also called Nasty Little Bugger, Christ That Hurts and Bloody Awful Fiend) lay down and start chewing contently on my stricken hand. 

    "Ahhhh! Damnit, get him off me Pol!" I cried, getting my knees underneath me and trying to lever my hand out of Nasty Little Bugger's mouth. _  
"Shouldn't you take his jaw in the other hand and pull down?"_ Polienix suggested, watching nervously from a nearby tree.   
    Um, yes, actually. When I'd helped out with my friend Nikki's Growlithe she'd bitten a lot in the first few months and if you tugged she just held harder because she thought you were making a game of it. I know that was practically eons ago but it _was_ perfectly rational knowledge.   
"Alright, B.A.F, time. To. Let. GO!"   
He looked up at me as I shouted, losing concentration just long enough for me to pull his jaw open and free its prisoner. I stood up quickly to avoid a repeat of the same episode and held both hands out of sight behind my back.   
"Now, that's not something you do, okay?" I informed him, gently massaging my injured hand with the other and trying not to wince.   
"Dour, hou dour dour." He tilted his head to one side and looked up at me.     "Oookay. What's he saying?" I asked Polienix. _  
"Umm…"_ She thought for a second and then shook her head, _"Most dog Pokèmon communicate through scent and body language… So I don't know."_   
I slapped my forehead, "So that's why it took so long to get Lucy the Growlithe under control!" I looked down at my new Houndour, who rolled onto his back and waved his legs in the air, "You better not be as bad as her, doggy."   
"Rawf!" He barked in reply, getting back up. 

    _"Let's go now, I still don't like it around here." _Polienix whined, taking off from her tree and flying circles around me.   
But I had other things in mind, which she had just reminded me of with that lecture about dog Pokèmon's communication.   
"Polienix, where'd you find that berry you ate?" I inquired as sweetly as I could.   
    She landed on my shoulder and hunched her own, _"In the forest. Quite near here but a little to the left."_   
It was obvious she didn't want to say. But it had probably also occurred to her that if my other Pokèmon couldn't speak, she'd be doing the translating.   
_"I-I'll take you there. But we've got to go as quick as possible!"_ She took off my shoulder and sped toward the edge of the forest, Houndour yipping and snapping at the end of her tail as she flew over him.   
    "Oi, you!" I started to jog after my first Pokèmon, sweeping Houndour off the ground on the way past.   
He snuggled comfortably in my arms with his head hanging over the right so he could watch the passing scenery.   
"What're we gonna call you, hey?" I asked him as I ran.   
He just looked up and me with his big, dark eyes before snapping at a passing twig. 

    "Raven, hurry up! I can smell a predator!" Polienix cried back to me, her voice full of anxiety.   
"That's because I'm _carrying_ one!" I yelled after her.   
"No, something BIG!" 

    I can't deny the tingle at the base of my spine when she said that. Memory flashed across the back of my mind, a crazy spew of pain and adrenaline and… Fear. In my mind's eye I saw sharp teeth and steel rods, huge paws and rancid breath that hung shimmering silver in the cold night air. I must have been afraid all along, just not have realised. Well, I knew it now. And I wish I didn't.   
    Mr. Puppy let out a whine of protest as I started to actually run after Pol. I pushed myself to run faster and faster, my practice dodging vines and roots leaping into use as I dodged everything aiming to slow me down. The thought that all I ever seemed to do was run through forest flicked through my mind, but the gnashing teeth of Mechyena ripped it apart.   
    Right behind me, I swear, it was right behind me! I could practically feel the hot breath on my neck, hear the snap of twigs beneath its feet and see its shadow in front of me. It was going to catch me! Catch me and kill me and eat me and… 

    Polienix had stopped right in front of me and if it hadn't been for my quick reactions I would have smashed straight into her. Instead I threw myself sideways, ending up crashed against a tree with puppy dog licking my face while not-so-secretly trying to eat my hair. I glanced back the way I had come but, obviously, there was nothing there. So much for being fearless.   
    I let out a sigh of relief and hauled myself up before going over to Pol. What was she… I glanced into the clearing in front of me. 

And there it was. 

Red eyes staring just as bloodthirstily as before. 

And once again I screamed. 

* * *

I know what at least one person out there is thinking! I kept you waiting for quite some time and then come out with a little chapter like this? Sorry 'bout that! It's just... This chapter was meant to include something like five seperate events and if I'd stuffed them all in I would have rushed it. People who have read me other fics (any of them) will know that I do this way too often! And I'm not planning on rushing this one, so there will be the occasional short chapter with big wait. Sorry again! It's just something that happens! 

Well, anyway, I've got more reviews that need tending to. First off... 

TopazSoarhire: Wow! So much praise! ^_^ Thanks! As for the bold sentances, they don't mean anything in particular. And bird Pokemon! ::huggles Polienix:: I love them! I have to say that quite a few appearances will be made by birdies, so that's something to be happy about, ne? 

Keleri: Ah! Nooo! Not my knees! ::clutches knees protectively:: I am writing! See, see, chapter 6 is halfway finished! ::grins foolishly and backs away from gnomes:: so could you maybe call them off? Possibly? Well, thanks for the review anyway ::eyes gnomes nervously:: 

STILL can't be bothered to sign in, doop: Will you stop it with the long Anonymous names? I have enough to type as it is, and you don't want to hurt my fingers, do you? After all, it'll take longer to UPDATE some fics ::cough::ApocalypsePartI::SapphireStorm::cough:: Am I not evil? And thanks for the turkey! ::throws turkey sacrifice to the chickens below and watches it be devoured:: You do realise that they need fresh meat to take over the poultry world under the command of SSD the now story-less one, correct? 

Pheonix Rising: Sarcasm happens to be interesting to write to, so there will be more of that. Good that you like it! As for the master, well ::taps nose:: Let's just say it ain't Meowth. 

And hello to people who have read and not reviewed too! I hope you enjoy what you're reading, even if you don't comment. NE wayz, I've got more writing to do... and scanning! ::hugs scanner:: And I will never insult thee again...   
~Obsidian

_Pokemon ©1995-2003 Nintendo, GAME FREAK Inc, Creatures Inc.   
Janera and all related creatures, items and landforms ©2002-2004 Obsidian Blade   
Emerald Fist and related plotlines and characters ©2003-2004 Obsidian Blade   
All rights reserved. Theft shall not be tolerated._


	6. Canned Fruit

**Emerald Fist**

**_Canned fruit_**

by **O**bsidian **B**lade 

    I saw it all, thick black shaggy coat, red eyes, thick snout, metal…   
"What's wrong with you, girl?" A voice wondered.   
Metal nothing. I felt the blood rise to my cheeks as I realised that what had scared me wasn't the night time adversary who had chased me through the woods not long enough ago. It was a Mightyena and my screaming seemed to hurt its ears.   
    "Nothing, nothing's wrong at all." I excused myself, feeling all the blood rush to my cheeks.   
The owner of the voice, a boy of fifteen, maybe sixteen, rolled his eyes to the sky and turned back to what he was doing before my interruption.   
"Come on, Pol, let's find those berries." I urged my Pokèmon, preparing to skirt the area.     But Polienix stayed put, her normally placid gaze raging fire.   
_"Leave my brother alone!"_ She cried suddenly at the boy.   
I blinked, okay, so that was not expected, and turned back to the Mightyena. 

    And that's when I finally saw it: a splash of fiery colour against the bland browns and greens of the forest floor. On closer inspection that smear of orange took the shape of a bird, longer and leaner than Polienix, with wide feathered wings, wild flamed tail and a line of curled feathers atop its head. I recognised it immediately; Magenix, the fire Pokèmon born of the same mother as Polienix. It sounded strange, but a batch of Articairion or Marzairion eggs often hatched to reveal both Pokèmon, some sort of genetic thing. I never really understood it, fire and ice Pokèmon hatching near each other? Strange.   
    Right now this male Magenix was in bad shape, glaring angrily up at Mightyena and its trainer.   
_"I said…"_   
Completely ignoring the ice bird's order, the boy rang out another battle command, "Cerberus! Bite attack!"   
_"Grrr!"_   
    I'd never seen Polienix angry. I know, I know, I'd only had her for less than a week, but if you knew her you'd know immediately that she wasn't the sort of Pokèmon that gets mad often. If at all. But here she was, as close to fuming as an ice type could get without melting. I had this feeling that she was about to do something rash… 

    And I tend to be right on these things. With a flap of her snowy wings Polienix pulled herself higher into the air, her head tilted back. As I watched and Mightyena charged, blinding white light began to fill her open beak, bathing me in its frozen gleam. Mightyena's trainer looked up just in time to get a full view of Polienix's Aurora Beam as it shot from my furious Pokèmon and careened into his charging dog.   
    Houndour and I flinched in unison as the attack slammed into Mightyena's side, drawing a startled yelp from the Pokèmon before it froze completely.   
"Dour…" My fire dog growled apprehensively, eyeing Polienix and probably deciding never to even try to nip her tail feathers again.   
In the middle of the clearing now sat a sparkling block of ice, a large black dog frozen mid-charge in its centre.   
    "Mightyena!" The other trainer yelled in dismay, a feeling that quickly turned to determination. "Greatball, go!"   
Striking crimson light streaked from the blue and red ball and a green dog with holly leaf ears and tail appeared on the ground.   
"Range!" It barked, coming forward from its sitting position to stand on all four paws. 

    It was about four feet tall at the shoulder and built out of toned muscle the rippled under its ivy green coat as it moved. A stone around its neck, located beneath a swath of green velvet, sloshed water and glowed slightly with blue light. Mournfully I glanced at the silver Pokèdex peeking out of my pocket, wishing it wasn't broken. What was that thing?!   
    The boy blinked for a second, seeming not to have expected to see this particular creature, before shouting out a few battle commands.   
"Fidranger! Leechseed and then Vine whip it! Magenix is ours!"   
What I'd now identified as Fidranger tipped its head back and let out a wailing howl, its spiky leaf ears flat against its skull. For a second nothing happened, but then I saw it. 

    It was a very small movement at first, a tiny twitch of the ground, but then it got stronger and stronger, to the point that huge cracks were starting to grow from the lump forming in the earth. I frowned and leaned forward to get a better look, granting a worn out Polienix landing permission on my shoulder. I couldn't see much, just this mound growing and growing and…   
    BAM! Dirt exploded upwards, followed by a barrage of roots that uncoiled to let a rain of seeds shoot through the air before retracting back into the hole they came from. Magenix weakly raised his wing for protection, but the seeds rained down on the poor bird, covering him with life-sucking plantlings. He lifted his head in protest, feathers drooping unenthusiastically, just in time to see a red and white Pokèball flying at his head.   
    _"Magenix!"_ Polienix cried as her brother was sucked inside the ball.   
It rocked back and forth, back and forth and then came to a stop with a clunk. The red light in the centre changed to white, indicating Magenix's capture. Gently I petted Pol's head in an attempt to settle her, but she refused to give up. 

    _"Why'd you do that?!"_ she demanded of the trainer, _"You should've left my brother alone!"_   
The boy watched her fly angrily around his head as he answered.   
"I'm a trainer, I catch Pokèmon. I was aiming to capture all of Articairion's new brood, but all I could find was Magenix."   
    _"**All** of us?!"_ Pol exclaimed in disbelief, _"Every last one?!"_   
Trainer boy nodded, "There's a team called Emerald around here," his eyes flicked over to me, "And they're trying to do the same to make sure they get the new Articairion. Marzairion is just a nice side-thing to them, but they still want it. I caught this one for his own safety." 

    Well, it _sounded_ perfectly rational, but I'm not really the trusting type. How could I tell that he wasn't just going to sell Magenix to the Emeralds for some dosh while my back was turned?   
_"Oh."_ Polienix didn't sound too sure either, but she was trying to pretend she did. _"I guess that's okay then."_   
"Hmm." the trainer nodded and held up Magenix's Pokèball, "Magenix, GO!"   
    As soon as the battered lava bird solidified on the ground he knelt down and held some sort of potion - super, I _think_ - to its mouth. Magenix looked suspicious at first, then let his beak open enough to let the healing liquid dribble down his throat. He was in the same position his sister had been when I first met her: no way of winning unless the human really was helping.   
    The trainer stepped back, the empty bottle of potion hanging loosely in his hand, and watched its magical effects. Starting slowly at first, and then speeding up, Magenix started to heal. The long shafts of his wing feathers crackled and straightened, a split in his yellow beak drew shut and the thick orange down on his lean body re-arranged itself to lie flat against the skin. 

    When every last blemish had disappeared Magenix stood up on clawed talons, inspecting his new trainer through intelligent black eyes.   
"Gen ma?" He chirped questioningly. That got Mr. Trainer Man off-guard.   
    "How come yours talks English?!" He demanded of me.   
I shrugged as if it was nothing, "Berries. We're gonna go get some right now, come with us if you really want."   
What he didn't know was that I hadn't offered so as to make friends, far from it. I just didn't trust him too much. If he came with Pol and I to the berry patch then I could keep an eye on him and Magenix. Sounded like a good idea, right? Erk. Wrong. 

    "Magen ixnen! Ix argen!" Magenix complained, jerking his thick plumage as far away from the snapping jaws of one annoyingly energetic puppy.   
"Dour! HounDOUR!" 

    I walked along beside Magenix's new trainer, fingers plugged in my aching ears and eyes bugging. Turns out Mr. Trainer Man (as I'd dubbed him after he'd had to untangle Magenix from his hair for the fifth time) was actually called Samuel, though people called him Jay most of the time. Why? Don't ask me, people can be strange. Which is obviously an understatement. Anyway, his name was Jay and he was only just fifteen, though he could have fooled me.   
    Standing about a head above my 5' 5", Jay was an under-muscled creature who made me look even heavier built than I was. He was in possession of a mop of tawny coloured hair and sea-green eyes, as well as what _had_ to be the biggest feet known to man. I mean, _Jesus_, he was size 10 or something ridiculous like that.   
    He had also been training for only a tiny while longer than myself, having started a month ago. Although I'd commented on his Mightyena, he'd shrugged it off as 'extra training'. Surprisingly, I could feel myself trusting him. After all, Cerberus seemed to like his trainer perfectly well… I was just being too nervy. And I complain about my looks. If my looks are bad, what am I meant to call that grey matter that lives in my head? Brain, was it? 

    "Are you sure it's this way, Pol?" I asked my starter Pokèmon, unplugging one ear to hear her response.   
Polienix was flying about above us, her features displaying supreme nervousness as she fluttered above the tops of the trees and then dived back down, making quick circles around our mismatched band of bird, human and… evil dog from Hell.   
_"Um well…"_ She did another circuit, golden light dappling with green shadow over her feathers and making her look like some sort of golden commando.   
_"Wait, it is!"_ She cried and disappeared over some foliage.   
"You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that!" Jay hollered after her, pulling Magenix's claws out of his hair again and stampeeding off after her.   
    I looked down at my Houndour, who stared back up at me with the innocent puppy-dog eyes.   
"Cummon, chaos dog," I suggested, "Let's not lose them now."   
He barked a typical puppy reply and took off after my current travelling companions.   
"I didn't say **RUN**!" I yelled after him, but his turbo-driven tail had already disappeared off into the forest. 

    Cerberus, who'd been plodding along behind, drew up beside me and gave me an understanding look. At least someone had some common sense around here. As the two of us made our way after the others I scratched him behind one silky grey furred ear and picked a few spores off his thick coat. He seemed to like that and I, with him beside me, started to relax a little bit more.   
    I'll never understand why, but having a good-tempered dog by your side can be particularly reassuring. I'd spent too much time running through this forest, I decided, and Mechyena couldn't possibly be around, not without good ol' Cerb picking up its scent and sounding the alarm. I glanced around at all the different greens and browns around me with the same appreciation I had given it when I had stood on the edge of Malmarsh.   
    It was late summer at that point, and while nights were freezing cold, days were perfectly pleasant. The trees were packed full of life, from the twitch of a Spearow's tail half-concealed by a bit of bracken to the swish of leaves where an Eevee or Skitty had just sat. Damn, I must be some sort of naturalist to show so much interest in all this. In fact, I seriously doubt that most naturalists care that much. Hmph. Bet they weren't confined to a big ugly city for all of their childhood. 

    _"Hey Raven, Cerb! Hurry your Slowpoke behinds up or miss out on all th' booty!"_ A voice I didn't recognise cried.   
Both my wolf companion and I jerked our heads up just in time to see a flash of orange before it merged with the bracken behind us.   
"Magenix?" I called uncertainly.   
    _"Yeah Ray?"_ came the answering cry as the bird himself alighted in his sister's place on my shoulder.   
He looked pretty proud of himself, for speaking and all. I could even see a bit of berry skin that had escaped his beak of doom attached to the feathers below his chin.   
I sighed, "Nothing much."   
    _"Well that's boring. Get out more."_ He suggested before taking wing again and speeding off the way he'd came, trailing calls to the few Pokèmon he glimpsed on the way.   
"Rawf!" Cerberus barked, and then he too was off after Mag.   
"Hey, you traitor! Get back here!" I started off after him, "I need some sanity around here to survive, y'know?!" 

    By the time I reached the clearing Jay was picking the last berry off the tree and popping it into a special transportation Pokèball. From what I knew, those were darn expensive. What was he, a money tree grower? And as for me… I never should have listened to those people who taught me that intelligence was useful. If that was so, how come I was the one without any magic berry things?!   
    "Jay?"   
He looked up from clipping away the item-ball, "Yeah?"   
I gestured to the empty tree.   
"Mine?"   
"Now now, Raven, that'd be selfish." He waggled a finger at me, "If you had more exercise you'd have gotten some too."   
    Tick tick tick. The sound of that vein in my forehead as I glared at him.   
"I'LL TEACH YOU EXERCISE!! TOMORROW MORNING! YOU'LL LEARN WHAT THAT MEANS!!!!" I yelled, ready to rip his little throat out of his little neck, "IT WAS **MY** POKÈMON THAT LEAD US HERE SO THOSE BERRIES WERE **_MINE_**!" 

    **"Actually, they belong to the forest, but since Polienix is so taken with you… Take some."** A musical voice decided from behind me.   
THUD! Jay's jaw hit the ground. He looked so comical, jaw slack and eyes bugging, that I would have laughed. _Would_ have, if it weren't for the fact that something behind me had forced him into that general position. I turned, v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y, to face whatever it was. But I didn't see it. Instead, a bushel of bright purple berries landed in my arms.   
    _'Berries from heaven!'_ The obnoxious voice in my head exclaimed.   
I didn't bother to make up any sarcastic retort in my mind. Well, more of I _couldn't_ make up a sarcastic retort, not when I could see what I could see. A little above me on a thick bough of an old oak tree perched a beautiful bird, her long slender neck regally curved and graceful wings held slightly open at her sides. Her legs, feet and beak were a pale yellow and her light blue tail with its dark blue markings trailed like a waterfall behind some bushes. Right then I hated those bushes. What I wouldn't do to see Trineth's numerous greats granddaughter's tail.   
    Beside the silvery blue creature sat the much smaller and tubbier form of Polienix, staring up adoringly at her mother, the one and only Articairion.   
_"Mum, this is Raven,"_ she introduced, _"Raven, this is mum."_   
Subconsciously I reached for one of the empty Pokèballs clipped to my waist, but Articairion fixed me with a powerful glare. 

    **"It is impossible to capture the wild Articairion,"** she told me,** "And even if it were, I don't think you could pull it off."**   
I sighed, but she was right. Before my mother died I had been obsessed with capturing an Articairion when I reached 10 and the age legally allowed to get a license. So obsessed that I had raided Malmarsh library of every last book on the almost-legendary, from those arguing that any Pokèmon related to Trineth should be counted as legendary to those explaining that it was impossible to weaken and capture one. Of course, being six at the time I just said I'd do it anyway, but I knew better now.   
    _"Anyway,"_ Polienix piped up, _"It would be daddy that you wanted to capture. Mum managed to evolve before anyone could capture her, so she's not got full stats. But daddy was captured and trained really well by some trainer so he's very strong."_   
Articairion seemed to take *minor* offence from that.   
**"Just because I wasn't trained by some hooligan with an ego the size of all our forests and tundras put together doesn't make me weak!"** she snapped and spread both wings wide, revealing the glowing royal blue gems imbedded in the underside.   
    With two powerful beats of her beautiful wings Articairion was airborne, hovering a few feet above her previous resting place. She flicked the end feathers of one wing, turned herself in the right direction to avoid hitting a tree and…   
"DOUR!" 

     Before I could say or do anything to stop him, Bloody Awful Fiend and launched himself from the thick mulch covered floor of the forest and snapped his jaws shut mere inches from Articairion's tail.   
"HOUNDOUR!" both Jay and I protested in unison.   
It was a worldly good thing that he missed. Instead he landed half on his feet, half on his side, and received an angry glare from Articairion before she sped away through a breach in the protective shielding of the canopy.   
    All eyes flicked to the offending puppy, who gave us another dose of innocent puppy dog eyes.   
"You," I said, stepping forwards and scooping him up into my arms, "Are going to have some obedience lessons when we reach the next town."   
"Hopefully before he manages to dig up Fiardor and bite _his_ tail." Jay added dryly. 

    I winced, but so much as _seeing_ Fiardor was as good as impossible. The draconic legendary was said to share a floating roost above SkyIvy town with his mythical sister, Seriance. We didn't have a hope in Hoenn of meeting either of them, which was good while Houndour was still stuck in teething puppy stage. Fiardor was known for his fierce temper and ability to absolutely obliterate anything that got on his nerves. Strange what people know about legends, huh? 

    Strange what Pokèmon you can find on the wrong route too. By the time we'd walked ten steps back up out of Beechgrove we'd seen about sixteen different species that weren't supposed to be around, from speedy Electrike to lumbering Lickitung. What had this place come to?   
    About a quarter of the way between the Miltank farm and Ecruteak city, Jay stopped the march, gesturing for me to have a look. At the side of the road, hidden by the light and dark greens of a patch of long grass, sat a Swinub, rooting about in the dark soil beneath the tough green stalks. Jay raised and lowered one shoulder, then whispered something like 'see you in Ecruteak'. 

    That was all the encouragement I needed. I let Polienix say goodbye to Magenix, shifted the stirring chaos dog in my arms and started off again down the hard packed earth of the well used route. You see, I hated having to keep up conversation all the time, hated being social, hated having someone who saw my every move. So I was happy to go on ahead. I could easily reach and pass Ecruteak, then get halfway to the National Park and Violet city before it got too dark to see and hey presto! No more annoying travelling partner. I no-longer upheld my belief that he would sell Magenix to the Emeralds, so he was free to go.   
    I kept walking, undisturbed by anything but the now awake Nasty Little Bugger, who ran around and around and around and around and around to the point that _I_ felt sick. _Really_ sick, since he kept doing it until about the halfway mark between Miltank patty heaven and our destination. But then, suddenly, he stopped. Ears pricked and nose twitching as he evaluated some new scent, Houndour let out a low whine and started to creep forward carefully. 

    Polienix's grip tightened on my shoulder, digging into the thin blue cloth and pinching my skin. I knew what she was thinking. I was thinking it too. 

* * *

_Pokemon ©1995-2003 Nintendo, GAME FREAK Inc, Creatures Inc.   
Janera and all related creatures, items and landforms ©2002-2004 Obsidian Blade   
Emerald Fist and related plotlines and characters ©2003-2004 Obsidian Blade   
All rights reserved. Theft shall not be tolerated._


	7. Stone Cold

**Emerald Fist**

by **O**bsidian **B**lade 

**_Stone Cold_**

    I thundered down Route 38, my feet beating out a rapid tempo as my toes bashed painfully against the inside of my loose trainers. Houndour ran in front of me, avoiding every one of my pathetic attempts to catch him as he neared his quarry. The trees shot past me in a blur and I could see Polienix struggling to keep up under her own steam through the corner of my eye.     "Gotcha!" I threw myself forward as fast as I could, wrapping both arms around my struggling Pokèmon and sliding along the ground. Great clouds of dust rose from around me and I was about to go into a mad coughing fit when one silky blue wing was clamped over my nose and mouth, silencing me.     _"Shhh, look!"_ Polienix urged.   
She pointed the tip of her free wing through the rapidly clearing haze of brown dust while I choked and gagged as silently as I could.   
"What is i-" I choked, and this time it wasn't on dust. 

     We'd slid to a halt at the top of a small ridge in the earth, a little behind a small grey rock. Right then, I loved that rock. It had probably saved my life. 20 metres away a huge steel cage glinted in the crimson red of the dying sun. Inside it one or two Pokèmon cowered away from two huge men clad in army clothing and tawny leather gauntlets, whips brandished at their heads. From the churned up earth around the cages I could tell that there had been plenty more Pokèmon in that cage, easily seventy, if not eighty. The thought of eighty helpless Pokèmon jammed against each other in that hideous cage made me sick, but I stopped myself from marching over there and punching one of those men's lights out. Why? Well, each had a pistol strapped to his hip for one and they didn't look like they were for show.     Another man, supposedly a sentry, was sat on a fallen log near the edge of the route, smoking a ciggy and running his tough fingers absent-mindedly over a swath of emerald velvet that encircled his upper arm. But what scared me most was the _real_ sentry. The one that was doing its job. The one that circled the perimeter of the area slowly, its shaggy furred ears pricking as it made out different sounds in the surrounding bushes. 

    Mechyena still bore the after effects of our last encounter. Its huge nose was slightly swollen from my last-chance kick and its obsidian black coat was charred in many places from Arcanine's mighty firewall. It must have sustained another injury as it fled, because a thick wad of gauze was taped triple around the lower half of its left front leg and a small box I couldn't identify was attached to its neck.   
    But even with all that, it was still as fearsome as ever. I started wondering if it had heard me, was going to hear me, had smelt me and was coming around for a final pass… But all it did was pass our hiding place unmoved, dinner plate size paws biting into the earth as its metal tendons flexed and loosened. 

    I glanced down at Houndour, who was straining against my grip to get at the much larger creature. As quietly as I could, I unclipped his Pokèball from its place on my hip and tried to aim it at the squirming dog.   
CRUNCH!   
The rock in front of me crumbled into a pile of pathetic pebbles under the weight of one giant foot. I looked up in horror at the creature I was sure would haunt my dreams forever more and was rewarded with a gust of warm metallic breath.   
_"Oh no…"_ Polienix breathed, all her feathers going flat against her skin in fright.     "DOUR!"   
Surprising me completely, Houndour leapt from my shivering arms and launched himself onto Mechyena's muzzle, gouging small red lines with his baby teeth as he hung on for dear life. The huge grey wolf shook its head furiously, trying to rid itself of its unwanted passenger.   
    Thoughts of escape flicked through my mind as the shout of one of the men boomed over the noise of general chaos.   
_'We'll run while Houndour creates a distraction, then return him to his Pokèball when we're out of Mechyena's range.'_ one side of my mind decided.   
_'And if Houndour is killed while we're running?!' _another part argued, _'Return Houndour and use the trees as cover to get to Ecruteak!'_

    But there was no time to do either as the grizzled face of the sentry appeared around Mechyena's hulking body. He snarled at Houndour and sent the baby dog flying with a flick of his gun, crashing heavily into a tree and sliding to its trunk.   
"Go get 'em boy." He urged Mechyena, but the Pokèmon seemed transfixed by the black jewel around my neck.   
"I _said_ GO GET 'EM!" The man yelled impatiently.     Shaking its crimson striped head Mechyena turned and raced over to my fallen creature.   
"NO!" I screamed, struggling to get up and save him.   
I was silenced and stilled by the cold touch of a steel barrel to my temple.   
"You aren't going anywhere poppet." the man sneered, his fingers resting threateningly on the trigger of his gun. 

    I was forced to watch in terror as Houndour was lifted non-too-gently into Mechyena's jaws and shaken furiously from side to side, his fragile head bashing against the massive dog's heavy jaw bone.   
_"Houndour!"_ Polienix cried, levering herself into the sky to get to her team mate before his death.   
"Polienix NO!" I hissed.     They hadn't noticed her. Simply hadn't noticed the ultra-rare blue bird that had been cowering behind me. But they had now, how could they have missed her?   
"Articairion's spawn!" one of the men in the cage yelled, stampeding out and brandishing his gun.   
BANG! He took a shot at Polienix's wing, trying to down her without actually killing her. Pol dodged with amazing speed and shot towards Mechyena, her sharp talons aimed directly for its soft ears.     But she timed it wrong, very, very wrong. She went barrelling forwards, screeching the battle cry of a bird… and was slammed aside by Mechyena's thrashing head. It dropped the motionless Houndour to the earth and turned its attention to my best friend.   
"Polie-" I started. 

     The sound of my voice was drowned out completely by the loudest Pokèmon cry I had ever heard. I looked up just in time to see the sun's red light cascade off a royal blue gem in a rain of tiny rainbows. What looked like a huge version of Polienix's aurora beam tore through the air, eating up the unlucky branches of overhanging trees with icy power before slamming into Mechyena itself.     The huge dog let out a pained roar as the attack enveloped it, the little box exploding on its neck as the amazing attack surrounded it completely. As soon as that gadget was gone my Pokèdex sprung to life in my pocket, almost unheard over the roar of Articairion's move.   
"ARTICAIRION, THE ARCTIC BIRD POKÈMON. WHEN FRIGHTENED OR HURT IT CALLS UP A DENSE MIST OF SPARKLING ICE TO PROTECT ITSELF FROM DANGER. THIS MIST IS VERY POTENT IN THE MEDICAL ASPECT AND TREASURED BY POKÈMON LOVERS EVERYWHERE." It droned, "SPECIAL ATTACK: ARCTIC CANNON. A LARGE BLAST OF ICY PSYCHIC POWER SHOT FROM THE BEAK. ACCURACY: 100 POWER: 200"     My eyes widened, _two hundred?_ Mechyena must have been nearly down already! Eagerly I watched Articairion's mega blast as it started to clear, the gun barrel pressed to my head forgotten as I awaited the sight of my greatest fear's defeated body. Slowly the ice blue glow disappeared until all that was left were a few departing wisps of crackling energy. 

    The ground was frozen solid, huge cracks visible where the ice had forced it apart. Tree branches and bush leaves simply shattered as the wind blew, raining down around a completely unharmed Polienix in a swirling storm of crystal. And in the centre of it all, surrounded by frosty devastation there was… there was…     The dark shape of Mechyena. My heart nearly stopped in my chest as it bodily hauled itself to its feet, shaking glass-like shards of ice from its thick coat and snorting huge bursts of pale steam out into the air. How was that possible?! Mechyena should have been frozen solid, or at least fainted… But there it was, red eyes narrowed as it tracked its flying opponent's path through the sky. I could see that it was wounded; my Pokèdex claimed it was down to less than a quarter of its full HP, but it shouldn't have even been that.     Articairion seemed to agree with me, coming to a stop and hovering in the air. Her opal eyes flashed angrily when she saw that Mechyena still stood, the gems on her tail shimmering between royal blue and silver. Everything was perfectly silent for a moment, but then there was a whisper from the man holding the gun to my head.   
"Kill it." 

    Mechyena reacted instantly, bounding up from the hardened ground with a crunch and snapping razor sharp canines at its opponent. Articairion barely avoided the attack; a last-second beat of her majestic wings manuovering her out of harm's reach and then sending her own hasty slash at Mechyena's throat.   
    She spiralled up into the sky and then dove, the air whistling like wraiths over the razor-like edges of her sapphire wings. Bird and dog slammed together ten feet above the earth, then fell in a tangled mess onto the dark soil. Mechyena was up first, hurling its massive head at the exposed throat of its opponent, two rows of deadly knives aiming for her jugular. And Articairion was powerless to stop it.     She squirmed pathetically in the dust, wings scraping uselessly at the unforgiving dirt but finding no life saving grip. I was sure that this was the end of her, a great legendary - no matter what some might have said - downed by a creature of human produce. But I was wrong. At the last second Polienix herself slammed her small body into Mechyena's broad forehead, sending the wolf yelping backwards in startled fright. 

    In the small amount of time she had Articairion struggled up and leapt into the air, fluttering her marvellous feathers into alignment and glaring angrily at her almost-murderer.   
**"You should not mess in the affairs of your betters, human made."** she hissed, **"I suppose that is a lesson I'll have to teach you."**   
"No! Let me teach you what it means to mess with HUMANS!" the guy holding me captive yelled, throwing me to the ground and taking a different aim.     RATATATATATATATATAT! A stream of silver and gold exploded from the muzzle of his gun, which I could now see was not your average slowpoke pistol (I never was very good with guns). Articairion seemed more surprised than alarmed at first, but quickly regained her composure and dove straight down. At the last second she spread her wings again, sending up a whirlwind of dust and sand before coiling back upwards into the sky followed by the relentless shots of the Emerald member's gun. 

    Meanwhile, I picked myself up from where I had been thrown and dusted off the shards of broken ice. Some had pierced my skin, but nothing as bad as what I had received on my escape night so I wasn't too fazed. Glancing back up at Articairion I saw her fire a searing beam of lilac psychic power straight into the huge cage. The metal prison went up like a rocket, leaving nothing but the stunned forms of the last freed Pokèmon. Apparently Articairion's attack only effected what she wanted it to, because they were unscathed and Polienix was helping Houndour up onto unsteady legs.     "Hey, hey, it's okay." I soothed, reaching my two Pokèmon and squatting beside them.   
Houndour whimpered pathetically and leant his head on my knee, looking up at me through pained eyes. Parallel lacerations were cut deep into his dark furred flesh, oozing thick red blood. Purple bruises made even darker patches in his beautiful coat and one leg was swelling up badly but he was still alive. For that I was eternally grateful. Petting his head softly I watched Articairion dance death with the bullets fired at her, my mind trying to come up with a plan that didn't end up with one of us being shot.     _"Raven,"_ Polienix's head nodded and circled on her neck as she followed her mother with her eyes, giving her a rather comical appearance, _"Are those shooting things dangerous?"_   
I sighed, how naïve could you _get?_ And opened my mouth to answer. It snapped closed. The last thing I wanted to do was make her launch herself up to 'help', which was something I didn't doubt her the capability of.   
"They can… Hurt a bit." I lied, "You don't want to get hit by them."   
Polienix nodded as if she understood and switched her gaze back to the skies. 

    I bit my lip, guilty about lying to her, and continued to plot.   
_'Throw a rock at him? Tackle him to the ground and wrench the gun from his hands? What to do…'_   
My mind skimmed over a multitude of moves, some I could execute perfectly, others so complicated I was more likely to end up on my arse, having my brains blown out of my head by one or another of those grunts' guns.     A light touch on the arm brought me back to earth as Polienix stared up at me timidly.   
_"Where'd she go?"_ she whispered.   
The sudden lack of gunfire had gone unnoticed by my ears, tuned out as I turned over idea after idea, but now I looked up I realised that everything was silent, the lack of sound accompanied by the lack of light as the glowing sliver of sun sank below the tops of the trees.     The star swept sky was empty aside from the probing gaze of all us ground dwellers. Articairion was gone, completely and absolutely. Even Mechyena seemed perplexed, its thick black ears thrown forward in an attempt to catch even the slightest sound indicating its adversary's return. The three Emerald members stood still, their guns slack in their hands as their eyes flicked across the sky. 

    My chance! I saw it, so clear cut, so easy in my mind's eye that I just went for it. I was sprinting full tilt at the nearest grunt before my mind had even fully managed to comprehend any dangers that might be present. It was a good thing. It meant I couldn't feel any apprehension to it all.     "Huh?"   
The scout's eyes had barely seen my form flying at him when I was on him, shoulder ploughing into the soft and vulnerable flesh of his stomach as I took him down into the dust. We scrambled for possession of the gun, each gaining a death grip on the deadly machine.     RATATATATATATATATATATAT! What the-? This guy's comrades-in-arms were shooting on _both of us_! Bullets sang past my ears, sinking and exploding into the ground near us, one so close that it blew the radio from the Emerald's belt. He let out a little high-pitched squeak that I'd call uncommon in a man his size and yanked the gun from my hands. 

    "Noooo! MINE!" I screamed possessively, wrapping my fingers around the barrel of the weapon and yanking it about everywhere.   
"Watchit kid, you'll-"   
He was silenced by a bullet from his ally's gun as it sliced its red-hot path through his chest, exploding out the other side in a rain of red. I yelped in surprise as the gun came free from his slack grasp, my own force sending me over backwards and shooting a stray shot over my shoulder.     I didn't have time to check as to whether I'd accidentally hit anything because the two remaining Emeralds had regained their composure (if they'd ever had any to start with) from shooting their own man and were opening fire once again. I was standing up though! There was no way they could possibly miss, not now not when-     "OMPH!"   
Something I couldn't even see slammed into my back, knocking my legs out from underneath me and sending me towards the ground. But instead of ending up seated firmly in the dirt, I landed hard on something soft but firm. 

    **"Hold on." **Articairion snapped at me and changed the positioning of her wings.   
"Blooooooooodyyyy Heeeeelllllll!!!" I screamed as the ground suddenly disappeared.   
All I could see was the deep midnight blue of the sky and the bright pinpoints of light from the stars. The moon loomed up ahead, a silver bow hanging above us. I clung tightly to the cutting edge of Articairion's powerful wings as she hauled us higher into the sky.     The chaotic battle sounds beneath us faded out of reality, as did the feeling in my fingers, as we soared closer to the wispy clouds overhead. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before, a sort of ship through the seas of peace.   
**"Hold on _tighter."_** the great bird ordered, giving me half a second to brace myself before she shot _straight down._

    It was like some sort of roller coaster, but it was so much better. There were no safety bars, no hideously ugly fat man screaming his head off in the seat behind. And the speed… I can tell you, there is _nothing _out there better than a flight on such a skilled flyer as Articairion was. She trimmed her feathers even closer in, wings folding just that tiny bit more as we shot closer.     "There it is!" one of the Emeralds screamed and suddenly I found myself in the painfully familiar situation of being shot at.   
Articairion dodged the bullets like a pro, but I was being jolted about like nobody's business.   
**"I hope you humans have a good landing system,"** Articairion commented when we were mere seconds above the gunmen's heads, **"You're going to need it."**   
"WHAT?!" I exclaimed, but my voice was ripped away by the wind.   
    Remember how I compared it to a roller coaster? This part was like that bit where you drop and are suddenly caught, soaring upwards and leaving your stomach behind. This time, however, I followed my stomach. Articairion broke sharply, her wings battering the wind as she pulled herself up into the air again. I got dumped just as she started to pull away, momentarily falling the last foot or so and slamming straight into the midst of the two. 

    Bruises all round. I rolled to avoid taking the brunt of the wall to one place and came up with the gun aimed at one of the men's chests, Lara Croft style. Both of their guns were trained at me, ready to fire, so I didn't think twice about pulling the trigger. The thing about Lara Croft, is that she is one, a video game and, two, probably knows about recoil.     The gun leapt in my hands, sending a bullet flying off in anything but the direction I had fired it in. There was an ear-rending twisting noise and the one of the guy's guns was blasted out of his hands. He stared at the empty hand and blinked emptily before his eyes blazed angrily and he came after me with a fist.     The RATATATATAT of gunfire started up again and I caught a glimpse of Articairion's glowing plumage as she sent a swirling gust at Mechyena before this meat-fisted bloke came at me. I pulled the trigger again, bracing myself for something, ,_anything,_ but it just clicked and clunked. I threw the useless hunk of metal away and got to my feet, ready to fight this out properly. To tell the truth, I was happy it didn't work. If I killed someone like that I'd never have managed to live with it. 

    There was a loud SWISH as the Emerald grunt's fist went soaring past my head with unbelievable sluggishness. I dodged easily and he took a second to retract before coming at me again. I have to say, it was incredibly funny to watch this huge hulking brick of a man coming at me so comically. It was obvious he'd never been trained properly so I could beat him at any second. Which I did, knocking him out cold against a tree as he hurled himself so foolishly at me.     As Stupid Bloke #1 collapsed to the ground with a thud I turned to face #2, but he was gone, completely and absolutely. A patch of ground molten together with psychic strength was all that was left of him. I raised my eyebrows and skirted the area, sidestepping over to join Polienix and Houndour.   
"How y'doing, chaos dog?" I asked him, sending a concerned eye over the wounds from Mechyena's teeth.     He managed a weak bark, his tail wagging and tongue lolling out of his gaping jaws. I smiled back, and then turned my attention once again to the full-on Mechyena vs. Articairion battle. The bird of psychic and ice dove and soared, dove and soared, scoring hit after hit on her adversary that Mechyena seemed incapable of returning. It sure couldn't fly, so how was it meant to hit her at all? There was something I had noticed, however, and that was that not a single one of Articairion's high-powered psychic blows had done anything to the huge dog. They hit dead on, with perfect accuracy and power, but did nothing. 

    Uncertainly I once again produced my Pokèdex from my pocket and tuned it in to the battle. It showed both combatants, but neither status effects nor anything that could possibly… My eyes roved over the type description of both and a memory of a lesson my mother had taught me resurfaced. 

_    "Now, Raven, LISTEN already!"   
I looked up from colouring in the 'o's, 'a's and 'e's in my workbook, my face a mask of childish innocence.   
"Yeah?" I asked sweetly, acting out a façade I'd used for ages.   
My mum didn't fall for it.   
"I'm talking, **you** listen." She ordered, frowning at me.     I nodded, not wanting her to stop biscuit time later, and listened.   
"All Pokèmon have types," she explained, "And each type has a weakness. Now, can you tell me which type is weak to fire?" 
_

    It went on like that for a while, to the point where I was half asleep and answering like a pre-programmed machine. But then it changed a tiny bit… 

    _"And ghost doesn't effect what type and vice versa?" mum asked, raising her eyebrows at my mechanical answers.   
"Electric is good against wa-What?!" I looked around for… Something.   
She sighed, "Ghost doesn't affect normal, normal doesn't affect ghost. Psychic has no effect against dark, but dark is ultra-effective against psy-" _

    "ARTICAIRION!" I yelled, "DON'T USE PSYCHIC MOVES 'CAUSE THEY **DON'T WORK!"**   
She looked up in mid-dive, startled by my sudden contribution, but nodded in reorganisation of my logic. 

I shouldn't have shouted then. Damn, I shouldn't have shouted then. 

    She looked back to the task at hand just in time to swerve up from the ground, but the pass has been much lower than normal and she hadn't landed the usual hit. Metal teeth the length of good-size Remoraid-gutting knives clamped down on the thick quills of her tail feathers, dragging her down. Articairion gave an ear-splitting screech, and then turned her head around and _pulled out her own feathers_.     Free of Mechyena's snapping jaws she took to the thermals once again, flying higher and higher into the sky. The dark-type dog dropped her beautiful feathers to the ground and howled in frustration, its voice carrying eerily through the cooling air. Articairion turned in the sky, fixing her opponent with a haughty eye and clicking strangely in what I guess was bird Pokèmon laughter.     And then it was cut short, an almost silent 'thud' going off in the bushes nearby. For a second she hung motionless in the air, wings stuck straight out in frozen animation. And then she dropped. 

    Like a stone she fell through the air, crimson blood pouring from a gaping hole in her back.   
_"MUMMY!"_ Polienix screamed, fanning her wings and fluttering up towards her mother's falling corpse.   
Articairion's body hit the ground at Mechyena's feet, her delicate wings shattering on impact and limbs twisted at odd angles.     Polienix landed beside her, seemingly oblivious to the carnivore towering over her, and took her mother's lifeless head between her wings. _"Mum."_ I heard her whisper over the frantic beating of my heart. _  
"Wake up already…"_ she murmured. 

    _"Wake up, you're all wet! How can you sleep like that?" _

"Mummy…" 

    If you don't wake up I'll eat all the biscuit-"   
I put my hands over my ears, blocking out both past and present. Houndour looked up at me and whined at a bush as it rustled silently. Must have been the gunman, whoever was in that bush. If I went after him though, I was likely to get shot. We didn't need anymore casualties, not today. 

Not ever. 

     Mechyena stared down its thick muzzle at Polienix, seeming to consider whether or not to take her. I was just about to get up, go over there and have another hopeless go at kicking its lights out, when a familiar voice called out a short way back along the path.   
_"Yeah, and then I hatched from the egg! First out! Better than alllll the rest!"_  
"Uh-huh." Jay's bored response came back.     I held my breath. If they came back here Mechyena wouldn't be happy… And Cerberus had to be in his Pokèball or else he would've made the same fuss Hades the Chaos Dog did. Hades… Not the best time to think up nicknames, I know, but I could hardly seem to get a grasp on reality at all. Hmmm, no Cerberus meant not even the most remote possibility of protection… 

    Mechyena's head went up with the sounds of voices. Taking one last look at Articairion and her daughter, it turned tail and fled, sending me a last second snarl before it disappeared off into the trees. I stood up and walked unevenly over to Polienix, kneeling beside her and taking her up in my arms. She wrapped her wings around me, tiny crystal tears seeping from her eyes.     I reached one hand out slowly, brushing Articairion's beautiful feathers in an attempt to find some sort of pulse. Nothing. And as I touched her, the bird Pokèmon's body froze over, delicate swirls of frost coiling up all over her corpse. As I watched in fascination the ice went deeper and deeper, feathers, flesh and organs alike turning into deep blue ice. By the time it was done, the only remnant of her was a huge Articairion shaped block of ice, and the four feathers she had removed from her tail.     Polienix looked up at me, her eyes watery and a bit puffy. _"Now all of her Polienix babies will be fighting for the right to evolve." _she informed me, _"They couldn't before because there can only be one Articairion at a time."_   
I nodded, stroking Polienix's head with the back of my hand comfortingly. That was why the Emeralds had fired on Articairion, although I didn't understand why Mechyena had left so suddenly… 

    "Hey! Raven, Polienix, Houndour!" Jay called, "What the heck was going on around here?"   
_"Woah, big battle musta happened."_ Magenix observed excitedly, flying around everything.   
He must have seen the dead remains of his mother, but he paid them no heed.   
"Why isn't he mourning?" I whispered to Polienix.   
_"Pokèmon aren't supposed to mourn."_ she replied, _"I'm only doing it because human emotion rubbed off from you." _She sighed and turned away from Articairion, _"Everything has to die, so we shouldn't regret it."_     I had a feeling that she was regretting it, but didn't push the subject. _'It would almost be mean if I did,'_ I decided as I returned Houndour to his Pokèball in a flash of scarlet light,_ 'Like stopping her from moving on.'_   
This thought firmly imprinted in my mind, I offered Polienix a shoulder and waited for Jay to catch up. After all, I'd sort of missed my amazing chance for escape. 

    "Big battle went on here." He stated, "Cerberus heard all the shooting and headed over here." he rolled his eyes, "I missed catching that Swinub because my Pokèmon ran off!"   
"Hmmm." I hummed to say I was listening, even though I really didn't care less. "Let's get moving, it's getting late."   
Jay raised and lowered one shoulder, "Fine."     Raising a hand to his lips he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.   
"CUMMON CERB! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"   
An answering bark could be heard, along with the thundering of paws. After about two seconds the shaggy grey dog exploded from the undergrowth, licking his lips with his long pink tongue before trotting over to us. I stared at him, wondering how close to Articairion's murderer he must have been, and sighed.   
"To Ecruteak." 

* * *

    Hey! I just got over the shortest case of wrtier'sblockitis I've ever heard of! Not that I'm complaining, but ya know. If this chapter seems a little disjointed (the end, no matter the fact that I have re-written it seven times, sucks) that would have something to do with me not just sitting down and writing it. I tried to smooth it out, but it didn't work as well as I had hoped... Bother.     As always, if ya dislike anything or would like to point out any mistakes e-mail me at trinethstorm@hotmail.com. Byez,   
~Obsidian 

_Pokemon ©1995-2003 Nintendo, GAME FREAK Inc, Creatures Inc.   
Janera and all related creatures, items and landforms ©2002-2004 Obsidian Blade   
Emerald Fist and related plotlines and characters ©2003-2004 Obsidian Blade   
All rights reserved. Theft shall not be tolerated._


	8. Why grandmother

**Emerald Fist**

by **O**bsidian **B**lade 

**_Why grandmother…_**

    I shuffled around Ecruteak city, Pol sitting on my shoulder and Jay tagging along behind. I'd left Hades at the Pokèmon centre to recover from his Mechyena-inflicted wounds and we were now 'checking out the sights' at Nurse Joy's suggestion. 

Somehow, I've always acquainted the word 'sights' when stuck on the end of 'checking out the' as something less than ordinary; eye grabbing, you know? So far, Ecruteak was beating _that_ ideal _deep_ into the ground. 

    I came to a stop outside a small Oriental-styled building, shifting Pol's weight on my shoulder, and waited for Jay to catch up. The house was fairly small (in Malmarsh standards, that is) but it still managed to obtain the 'largest building award' in the town, aside from those towers I'd glimpsed as we'd hurried to the Pokèmon centre on the way in.     Like the other scattered structures, this one included dark wooden walls, a Sudowoodo-shaped tree out front and a grey metal roof adorned with Gyarados heads at every corner and ribbed with carved scales. I was practically certain that one of those roofs was going to squish the flimsy wooden frame of a house supporting it and couldn't help but flinch back whenever the wind picked up. So far, however, the boxes had stood strong. 

    Flicking a powder blue feather - courtesy of my shoulder-roosting companion - from my forearm I gave an impatient sigh and glared at the top of the slowly advancing Jay's head. He had his nose buried in an 'Ecruteak: the town for fun, enjoyment and a sprinkle of mysterious history' tourist guide he'd picked up at the Pokèmon centre, its once colourful and glossy pages now faded and dull. 

    "And?" I inquired impatiently once he was close enough to hear, gesturing with a thumb to the building behind me, "What's this meant to be?"   
He flipped over the guide and squinted at a page obscured from my view, eyebrows drawing together as he intensified his search. The damn guide had every single place noted in it, even poor helpless people's homes, so it would be there. The challenge was to find-     "Dancing hall." Jay suddenly erupted, finally removing the guide from its stuck-to-nose position and actually _looking around_ the place.   
He frowned, seeing how deserted this 'dancing hall' was.   
"The guide says there's a queue right to the edge of town to see the geisha girls dance, even on the best of days." He whined, "I don't see it!"     I snarled and snatched the expensive-looking colour print from his frantically clutching hands, flipping through the slippery pages until I found my prize.   
" 'Printed at Goldenrod Printing co., 1997.' "I quoted, stabbing an accusing finger at the small white print in its bright green surround, "You don't seriously expect this to still be reliable, do you?"     Jay snatched it back, holding it protectively to his chest.   
"Some of the information _has_ to be right!" He snapped defensively, "Like this," He gestured to an article headed with a photo of a blackened tower (but focused on the fence out front) and the words 'burnt tower' printed in the flowing computer equivalent of cursive.   
"Wow," I muttered sarcastically, "It's a tower. And it's** burnt**! That's gotta be a bonus." 

    My male companion ignored my comment, pushing past me in the direction of the treacherous Route 38 with the guide held out proudly in front. After thinking for a second I followed; what else was there to do around here anyway? The burnt tower wasn't that far away, and as we passed the gap in the town's leafy walls Polienix shivered slightly on my shoulder. Her mother's death was obviously still playing heavy on her mind as she hadn't said a thing since we'd arrived in Ecruteak. To tell the truth, I didn't blame her. 

    I was too busy wondering _exactly_ what was going on in Pol's mind to realise Jay had stopped, nearly trampling the guy before I noticed. Before us towered a huge structure, an ominous black shadow against the calm clear blue of the late summer sky. The top levels had been either hollowed out or destroyed by flames long since extinguished, all that remained of the upper floors charred skeletons of their former selves. There was something about that tower, something… powerful, perhaps. Either way, that boring old ruin drew my attention like a magnet. Now _this_ was a 'sight worth seeing'. I actually wanted to go in there.     I left Jay to his triumphant smirk as I strode up to the doorway, only to find a crooked sign born by a dusty chain blocking my entrance. With a scowl I crouched down to read it, Polienix lending a helpful wing as she wiped away the thin layer of road grit and dust. 

**BURNT TOWER**

It read in block capitals. 

**NO ENTRY DUE TO HEALTH   
AND SAFETY REASONS**

Underneath, scribbled on as an afterthought was written '_**as of 6-10-01'**_. 

    I bit the inside of my lip, no matter the 'health and safety reasons' I really wanted to go in there. Not only did it hold some strange appeal but the alternative was the continuation of Jay's out-of-date tour! Raise your hand if you'd choose that!     Before my unwanted tour guide could pop up behind me and read the sign I grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him under the chain and inside, giving him a look I hoped said 'no complaining!'. Internally the tower was shadowed and musty, the thin shafts of light that sliced through holes in the upper floor being the only form of illumination. The floor was made of thick wooden boards, scarred by the shuffling feet that had once pounded them daily.     The walls, however, were still smooth, some of the lower wood still clinging to the remains of glass-like varnish. Despite that, burnt tower was in a serious case of disrepair. Well, I guess you're thinking: it was mostly destroyed by fire, what d'you expect? Well, not this. The fire had only ever reached the upper levels and the most damage it had done to the ground floor was melt the varnish on parts of the walls nearest the ceiling. However, there were huge gaping holes in the floor! I could actually see splotches of the rocky basement through them from where I was standing at the exit. 

    _"Well, I guess we know why there are health and safety reasons now."_ Polienix noted quietly.   
_"Health and safety reasons?" _Jay cried, his bluey-green eyes flicking from Polienix to me, "What're we doing in here if there're **health and safety reasons not too**?!"   
I was about to respond when a huge shadow blocked the light, leaving the three of us bathed in darkness. Before I could so much as turn all the way around to face whatever it was in the doorway a heavy fist had grabbed me by the back of my shirt and hefted both Jay and myself from the ground, our sleeves digging into our armpits.     As quickly as we were up we were down on our behinds in the dirt, Polienix lifting off my shoulder and fluttering above us in the air while a man with the widest shoulders I'd ever seen glared down at us. He was clothed in standard guard clothing; black trousers, white shirt hidden by a black blazer done up the front to the collarbone by a series of obsidian buttons, and a grey tie around his neck. His red hair was cropped short up the sides, a little longer on the top, and the Johto league insignia was emblazoned over his left breast. 

    "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded in a definite Violet city accent, "This is a restricted area!"   
Jay and I could only blink foolishly, a nervous laugh sliding its way from my mouth before I could do anything about it. The guard's eyes flashed angrily at me, his bushy eyebrows pulled so close together they were practically blending.   
"This is not a laughing matter!" he snapped, "You kids might think this some big joke but it's dangerous in there. Now scat! If I see you 'round here again it'll be big trouble!"     Giving the guy hasty nods we stumbled onto our feet and took off at a dead run, coming to a sliding stop only when we'd reached the door of the Pokèmon centre.   
"Like… we really… needed telling…" Jay gasped about the guard's orders, "We'd be… nuts… to go back there!"     I nodded in agreement as Pol landed on the roof of the 'centre, but inside I was already planning. That tower was more than just a reject tourist attraction. It had secrets, damn big ones from the way my intuition was raging inside me, and I was going to be the one to find them out. 

After all, what was the worst thing that could happen? 

** * * * **

    The alarm set beside my bed went off at one o'clock sharp, pulling me straight out of a fairly stupid dream involving capturing small lunch cheeses in Pokèballs. The clock was a gaudy thing, made of cheap and nasty orange plastic trimmed with bright purple. It emitted short sharp beeps at regular intervals, the red-lit digital display flashing madly like some sort of flustered Chinchou.     I growled and slammed it off with a slightly lumpy pillow, cursing angrily as the strong silver light of a full moon shone insistently into my sleepy eyes. I scrubbed away the wet cement that begged my eyes to shut, ignoring the protesting snuffles Hades gave off as I moved beneath him. Being your standard Bad Dog he was sprawled across my legs, stubby tail beating the thin sheets whenever I so much as glanced in his direction.     A quick shove to my dog Pokèmon freed my legs and I was up, the nylon carpet barely budging under my weight. Around me the room was a mass of grey shadows, the bed barely distinguishable from the cream carpets in the gloom. The only thing stopping me from tripping over my own feet was the pale moonlight and (one hopes) my own brain. 

    Groping like a blind man across the bedside table and nearly knocking the clock from its precarious perch on the edge I finally gripped the durable handle of a heavy-duty torch, hefting its reassuring weight from stand to bed where it received a thorough sniffing from the resident puppy.     I quickly tugged a thin grey fleece supplied by the last Pokèmon centre over my head, pulled on the combats from yesterday and rammed my feet into my shoes. The torch handle fit comfortably in my hand, my only weapon against the full arsenal of unseen objects darkness commanded. As quietly as possible I padded over to the door and eased it open into the absolute blackness of the hallway.     With equal caution I inched it closed behind me and secured it with a click that seemed smothered by the dark, only to hear a little whine come from knee-level. Resisting the urge to slap my forehead I looked down, my eyes greeted by the vague outline of a small black canine form that had plopped itself down at my feet. 

    I flung him my best glare, but there was no _way>_ I was going to do the whole open-door-shove-dog-in-close-door routine, yet alone risk having him start yowling or whatever. As quietly as I could I patted my thigh in indication that he follow and made my way out of the Pokèmon centre. If it were any other town I'd have had to make up some excuse to get past the ever-there Joy or Chansey ready for emergencies but as it was this was Ecruteak. Joy and her assistants were no doubt long since bedded down. 

    It was a lot brighter outside, no ceiling or walls stopping the clear moonlight from pouring over the ground in its full glory. Of course, there was much more room for shadows, but despite recent experiences I was becoming more and more at home in the night.     Hades, his knife-like wounds stitched and one leg bandaged, trotted along beside me; his good behaviour surprising me like nothing else. Where was the scampering fiend that chased anything that moved? Where was the nipping, biting, chomping little monster I'd come to expect from him? Huh, not that I was exactly missing it. All in all, this was definitely a good change. 

    It was a short walk to reach the Burnt tower, its skeleton-like form bursting out from above the tops of the small Ecruteakian houses when I'd walked no more than fifteen steps. I kept the little buildings between me and the forest, the soft hooting of a Hoot-hoot floating to my ears from the living barrier of vegetation. Through the big gaps between houses I caught sight of the flashes of a range of eyes illuminated by the moonlight, saw the swift rustling of leaves as different nocturnal Pokèmon dashed about the woods. Nothing big though. Nothing with metal joints and leering red eyes.     The tower itself actually looked better in the night, rising like a structure of smooth black bones high into a sky pocked with twinkling stars. Our friendly neighbourhood guard was missing as well, just as I'd hoped. He'd probably gone home for a good night's kip and I could hardly blame him. Must be boring, guarding a tower from non-existent tourists. Jay and I 'breaking in' was probably the most exciting thing to have happened to him recently. 

    As I walked up to the entrance, ducking under the chain for the second time that day, Hades emitted a low growl from deep inside his throat. I looked back at him, eyes scouring the night for any signs of danger. But there was nothing, just Hades crouched low on the path growling at the air. I sighed and gestured for him to follow.   
"Cummon, Chaos dog."     He didn't move.   
"I _said_, come on!"   
The growl rose higher, the fur along his back raising in a straight line from nose to tail.   
"Why don't you lis-"     I was cut off by a flash of movement shooting across in front of me. It - whatever _it_ was - slammed hard into Hades' flank, sending the puppy tumbling over onto his back. The thing landed itself on his stomach and legs, pulling back to strike. In the brief amount of time in which it was stationary, I got a glimpse of what this creature really was. At first glance I thought it might be a deranged Wavig (the water starter for the Janera league), but that idea was quickly dismissed. I couldn't see its colouring through the gloom, but the large leathery wings that sprouted from its back were way too big to be a Wavig's. They were huge, more than twice the size of the creature itself!     Everything about this animal seemed out of proportion. Its tail was incredibly long and slender, snapping through the air like a bullwhip, and its muzzle went from wide to slender to rounded at the end. I took all this in to my system in half a second, leaving just enough time to notice the sparkling white teeth that were currently aimed at my Pokèmon's exposed neck. I didn't have time to think, to regret, to wonder about creature cruelty laws. All I saw was Hades, trapped; the creature, ready to strike; my own trainer shod foot, crashing into its exposed side. 

    Our attacker let out a hiss like the air gushing from the mouth of a balloon, literally flying off Houndour and thudding onto the ground. I grounded my foot quickly, before I could lose my balance, and glared at whatever it was. Slowly it got back up; huge wings curving to lie limp against the ground as it got all four legs up underneath it. There was a definite draconic air around this monster, from the scales I could just about pick out in the moonlight to the stubbly ridge that ran down its back.     Hades didn't waste a second. He was up on his feet; lips peeling back to reveal long, yellowed canines as a heavy growl reverberated through his throat. His opponent returned the growl with its own hiss, one much different from the sound of surprise and pain it had let out before. No, this one was coloured with the dark tones of deep malice. As it hissed the dragon-creature folded its wings back up, raising itself onto its toes. 

What happened next happened so fast I could barely blink. 

    In a burst of speed this creature suddenly shot out to my left, leaving trails of itself behind it as it ran. It leapt, rolled, and flapped its wings into momentary flight before landing again to continue its run, never once losing any speed. It circled Hades and I until my Pokèmon's eyes were rolling and I couldn't tell after-image from enemy. This had to be agility, no doubt. Which meant this thing was a Pokèmon. Which meant I could battle it, as long as we kept the noise down.     I blinked away nausea from the on-going move, steadying my spinning head with one hand. _  
'Right. Battling.'_   
This would be my first proper fight, I realised. After all, Yanma vs. Polienix didn't exactly last too long.   
_'Hades, don't fail me now.'_ I thought.     I slid my Pokèdex from my pocket and watched the screen. Apparently our opponent was moving too fast to be identified, as my 'Dex sure couldn't pick it up.   
"Hades battle stats, display." I instructed the little machine, remembering the manual I'd read while waiting for nightfall.     With a flash of light and a small 'clink' the screen changed, displaying instead: 

Hades (M)Lv.13   
HP: MAX   
Attacks:   
Leer - Reduces opponent's accuracy   
Ember - A fire-bases attack. May burn opponent (10% success)   
Roar - Scares opponent away; forces trainer to swap Pokèmon   
Smog - A poison-based attack. May poison opponent (40% success) 

    _'Okay,' _I thought to myself, _'Let's do th-'_   
"Hades, NO!" I screeched, one hand grabbing and tearing at my hair while the other nearly broke my Pokèdex in half.   
While I'd been fiddling about with my battle machine, Houndour had been creating battle plans of his own. He leapt forward! Straight into the path of the oncoming… uh, thing!     The other creature broke sharply, trying to spread its wings to slow its flight, but it was going too fast. The two Pokèmon smashed together, bouncing apart on collision to land about three metres each from where they'd collided.   
I leapt to my dog Pokèmon's aid, "Hades? Hades, you stupid dog! What did you think you were doing?!"     He let out a low whine and stumbled up, flinching noticeably as his wounded leg made contact with the ground. I frowned, great, go out in the middle of the night in an attempt to go someplace I wasn't allowed to, get Pokèmon hurt, get other Pokèmon hurt… Other Pokèmon? I glanced over my shoulder to see the extent of the damage that thing had received. 

    To my surprise it was scrabbling to get up, claws scratching at the ground as it hauled itself to its feet. It stood there, sides heaving as it gasped for air, for a few seconds before pulling its gaze from the ground to catch that of my own. I can say one ting: that thing was NOT happy. In fact, it looked positively furious. Foaming at the mouth type mad. Except for one difference - this Pokèmon wasn't foaming at the mouth. It was _sparking_ along the body.     My mind instantly made _that_ connection. Sparks = electric type = electric shocks = heart palpitations = heart attacks = pain = death. Square that and divide it by pi and what do you get?   
"RUN!" I yelped, any fear of being caught by our friend the Johto league guard fleeing my mind in the face of the ugly word equation I'd just come across.     Grabbing Hades under his front legs I hauled him up into my arms and legged it, fleeing full tilt away from the thing… and up towards Burnt tower. It turned! It followed! With the most graceful leap I could muster while my arms were full of puppy I cleared the chain, my toe just catching the top of the sign and sending it jolting jerkily on its chain.     It was pretty tough going once I got inside. The fairly obvious fact was that the floor was less than complete and any wrong step could send me tumbling down and down, down into the foundations of the place. For some reason, I didn't fancy that one much. But still, that evil little thing was right on my heels, lightning bolts leaping about its scaled flesh as its small clawed hands thundered against the dirt. 

    The stairs were right in front of me, within jumping distance! I got ready to launch myself, a silent clock in my brain ticking away the milliseconds before I had to fire my muscles and leap…   
SNAP!   
My harasser's jaws! Twin rows of razor-sharp teeth cut easily through the hem of my shirt, pulling me back and setting me off balance.     "Woah!" I cried, risking a glance over my shoulder.   
My eyes met the glinting golden orbs of the draconic Pokèmon and I decided it was time to haul serious butt. With every once of strength I could muster, I yanked myself free, leaving a good sized hunk of cloth behind, and leapt up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. I stopped at the top and turned around, just in time to see the very tip of a long, bullwhip tail disappear away. 

    With a sigh of relief I let Hades down onto the charred-black floor, removed the heavy-duty torch from its position hanging from my wrist by its handle and grabbed my Pokèdex from my pocket. Leaning my head and arm out a gaping hole in the wall, I trained the dex's sensor at the retreating form of the Pokèmon, just before it disappeared into the trees.     "MYDRAL." the Pokèdex informed me, "THE LITTLE DRAGON POKÈMON. IT INHABITS WOODED AREAS CLOSE TO HUMAN CIVILIZATION SO AS TO GAIN POWER FROM ELECTRICITY LINES. KNOWN TO GO FOR PREY UP TO THREE TIMES THEIR SIZE, THESE POKÈMON ALMOST ALWAYS HAVE BACKUP ON HAND."     "Great," I muttered, more to myself than to Hades, who sat attentively with his head on one side.   
The ground was almost sandy, covered with tiny black particles that dug almost painfully into the palms of my hands. It was strange; I'd wished with all my being to get in here no matter what, but now I'd achieved that goal the urge inside of me still wasn't ebbing. It was as if… as if I still hadn't done what I was meant to, as strange as that sounded.     Finally, when I was sure the after-effects of being chased through the night _again_ had worn off, I got to my feet and flicked on my torch, the bright bulb bursting through the penetrating darkness and giving me a good look at the level of destruction on this floor. And I'll tell you, it was an absolute wreck.     Burnt and broken, the once-great structure resembled the inside of a cave, with walls scorched into a smooth and slightly curving shape. The black of the walls seemed to absorb my guiding beam of light, letting it free only when it travelled out of one of the holes where the fire has burnt through. I found myself once again wishing that the Burnt Tower guard was a heavy sleeper: with this powerful flashlight I was probably making the building he was meant to be guarding look like some sort of inland lighthouse.     With that in mind, I flicked the bright yellow beam over the floor and committed the only gap and any imperfections to memory before turning it off. For a second all I saw was darkness and the moon out a break in the opposite wall but then my eyes started to adapt. Sure, my vision wasn't as good unaided as it had been with the help of the light, but I wasn't totally blind. 

    Suddenly, a bone-chilling wail went up from the crowded mass of trees behind and below me. It dipped between high and low in pitch, the main sound accompanied by a strange rattling that reminded me of the sound given off by a rattlesnake's tail, only deeper and louder. Another voice joined it; one much higher and lacking that same feeling of pure unbridled strength. I turned around to have a look out one of the fire-created 'windows' when…     WHAM!   
Collision! Something way bigger than the Mydral that had been chasing me earlier shot through the gap, its huge wingspan sending the tips of its wings slicing though the old wood of the tower. I saw an explosion of shattered wood, a head the length of my entire arm, teeth! Claws! A back-swept golden spike protruding from the back of a thick royal purple neck!     And then I was falling, straight back through the single hole in the floor and leaving Hades behind. The air whistled past my ears as I hit the edge of the floor below with a shock of burning agony and then tumbled down through a smaller opening to the floor below. Ow. Pain. 

    It was a nightmare come true. The surrounding area was pitch black, a darkness so thick it clogged up my throat and made my eyes strain themselves trying to see. I was sprawled out on my left side, the pain causing my flesh to pulse with each beat of my heart against the cold floor. Beneath my cheek the ground was even but rough, like some sort of stone. It hurt just to lie on it, but I wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to move yet. The pain may have been proof that I still lived, but that was enough evidence, thank you very much.     I managed to roll my eye up so I could see through the slash in the ceiling. Although none of the light seemed to penetrate that far, I could see Hades peering down anxiously at me. Whatever that thing that had hit me was, it had obviously left after the deed was done. If it hadn't I was fairly sure that my Pokèmon would be a tasty Houndour sandwich by now. 

    Slowly, carefully, I began to peel myself off the harsh stone of the floor. My body throbbed painfully from the fall as I sat up, leaning my back against something curved as I let cautious hands search my aching self from anything really bad. Although I detected several growing lumps under the surface of my skin - the worst situated on my left ankle - my hands came up dry: no blood.     "Blasted thing." I muttered about whatever had knocked me down here, searching blindly for my torch.   
Finally my hands closed around the hard handle of the appliance and I got up into a kneeling position, ready to try my battered and bruised legs out- 

    I stopped dead, a strange smelling breeze drifting in and out, in and out across my face. In and out, in and out, as rhythmical as the tide. Or something's breath. Fear gripped me once again; the force of the intake and expulsion of air was heavy enough that it had to be something big. Something… huge. Perhaps even as big as Mechyena… But no, Mech's breath had smelt of steel and the iron of blood, not like this. This was like nothing I'd ever smelt before, but that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. 

    I fumbled clumsily with the thick switch of the heavy torch, that strange heat billowing across my face in waves. Why wouldn't the damn thing turn on?! In a bout of desperation I slammed it against my bent knee, hoping against all hope that I hadn't just busted it permanently. To my short-lived relief it flickered on with a loud clunk, the powerful radiance of the heavy-duty bulb igniting everything in front of me in a flood of light.     Flat metallic surfaces greeted my eyes, radiating out in jagged spikes that reflected the light of my torch straight back into my eyes. Huge shadows were cast as the harsh brilliance caught against the sharp contours of the mask-like surface, shadowed pits of oblivion glaring down at me from the centre of it all.     The remaining luminance that had avoided being spent on this magnificent sight flitted across the knots and tangles of dark hair that hung behind, shifting slightly in the light breeze that wafted through the basement-like area we were in. With a rumbling growl this beast - this _thing_ - leant forwards into the beam, angular predatory eyes appearing through the shadow and fixing hawk-like on my stock-still form. 

    Despite being one of the most terrifying things I'd ever seen, outdoing Mech by a long way, I had to admit that this creature was magnificent. Now in the full beam of the light the yellows, reds and silvers of its face greeted my eyes perfectly. It reminded me somewhat of a lion, but at the same time of a dog or hyena.     As I cringed back, shivering, it let out another rumble from its great throat. But I wasn't quite as scared as I had been last time, because now it sounded much more benevolent than it had previously. It was almost as if it had realised I was just a petrified, hurt human girl who was utterly incapable of wounding it.     I managed to force a tiny smile in the hope that it wouldn't hurt me, but instead it just turned away and walked off to the centre of the basement, to a slightly higher area. I noticed that it limped on the left side and that its coat bore the burns of electricity. Along its right flank I glimpsed - or rather, didn't glimpse - patches of missing fur stopping what remained from lying flat. Whatever this beast was, it had been in quite the fight. Maybe it had had a run-in with Mech too? 

    No, looking at it again, I could see that this creature had far more power than Mechyena could even dream about… and that scared me even more. It meant that there had to be something stronger around and, while this one seemed fairly placid, I had no way of knowing that the other wasn't.     Gulping back what remained of my fear, I stood up completely and swept my torch light across the whole area. Hmm, rock, rock, rock, rock, rock, rock, big lion/hyena beast, rock, rock, rock, metal cylinder… Wait, what was that doing there?! I hobbled towards it, only to discover a forest of huge cylinders shining at me from behind it. In fact, they extended all the way around one side of the basement and I'd been leaning on one previously.     I leant closer to one, ignoring the cries of protest from the bruised leg I was putting extra weight on, and ran my free hand over the smooth surface of the metal. The cylinder in question was only a few inches taller than I was, made of some form of steel or aluminium and plastered with a big green sticker.   
"Potassium." I read out loud, "Group one."     Another one behind it read caesium; another stated that it contained a batch of lithium; still another claimed that inside lay enough beryllium to blow up a good sized town when treated properly. I took a step back, letting the light wash over as many as possible as my eyes darted from one to another.   
"However put these here was completely insane." I muttered to myself, eyes full of disbelief.   
These cylinders were chock full with the most reactive of chemicals containable. For example: caesium. High on the reactive list in group one. Mix it with water and you've got quite the explosion. 

    I took a few steps back, but my foot caught on something. Looking down, I caught sight of a swath of what looked like purple cloth. Reaching down, I picked it up and held it up to see. It was there for maybe half a second before melting into a crystalline pool of water in my hand and dripping down onto the floor below. I shook my head, this place was strange, and turned on my heel… only to come face to face with the resident of this basement yet again. Its eyes narrowed and then… 

WHOOSH! 

_    Raikou, Suicune and Entei sat together silently in the centre of their rock-and-earth home, needing no words to express to each other whatever they felt like. Entei, full of a lion's pride and power, sat in the centre, Suicune to his right with all her aquatic wit and speed. To the left lay Raikou, the muscles under his thin golden pelt moving like water as he stretched.     They sat and they conversed, seemingly oblivious to the presence of a fourteen year old girl who stood in plain sight to their left. Her blood-red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, amber eyes darting from legendary to legendary in curiosity, amazement and a tint of fear. She looked out of place in the dim light of the basement, almost as if the green light of a forest was coiled around her.     Raven frowned, and opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly there was a loud scraping noise from the far wall as a boulder was wrenched aside. The three legendary dogs were gone in a flash, leaving only the ghostly girl standing there as a whole hoard of men and women poured into the area. 

    They wore black or white uniforms of exactly the same style, with exactly the same red 'R' sewn across the front. They worked quickly, carrying huge canisters of different elements into the basement until one whole wall was completely covered. Then they left, aware of neither the trio hiding behind a small outcrop of rock nor the deeply confused girl standing right among them.     She opened her mouth again, the horror of seeing someone run straight through her still hanging heavy in her mind, but then… 

_

WHOOSH! 

    _The scene changed again. It was still inside the dreary basement, but now Entei found himself faced by both of his siblings, their eyes glowing with malevolent intent. The whole area was lit up with an eerie green light, the fire Pokèmon's shadow lying long and dark along the floor. The others had no shadows. All they had was anger.     And then, sparks flying from one while a frozen aura sprung up around the other, both sprung at their brother…
_

WHOOSH! 

    I staggered, reeling from what I'd just seen. Entei regarded me solemnly, as if he'd just shared his greatest secret with me. His voice, if you could call it that, spread throughout the cavernous space, echoing off the walls. _My siblings turned against me,_ he told me, _but through no fault of their own. Thus they keep a place within me. There is an exit to your left. Leave, and know that Maeldren will not hurt you._     I tried not to choke on my own amazement. A legendary? Talking to me?!   
"Uh… thanks…" I managed, before hobbling away backwards, afraid to take my eyes off him.   
I had a feeling that his words would haunt me for a while. 

*** * ***

    After the claustrophobic darkness of the burnt tower basement it was a relief to get back up onto the ground floor, even if I was now chancing getting caught by either the Mydral or the other creature. Of course, Entei had said that Maeldren - whatever one of _those_ was - wouldn't hurt me. Maybe that extended to Mydral as well? Well, I could only hope.     Switching off my torch to avoid attaching any extra attention, I scuttled out into the open, greeted by the tiny box houses of Ecruteak.   
"Hades!" I hissed as loud as I dared, "Cummon chaos dog, let's go!"   
He didn't come.     With a groan, I headed back inside the building, but it was as dark, still and dead looking as always. After walking three complete circuits around the tower, I knew that he wasn't there either. That left three other options: one, he was dead; two, he'd decided to go back to the Pokèmon centre without me; or, three, he was in the forest. The forest was closest so, trying to ignore the chill that ran up and down my arms from the wind that was picking up, I decided I'd have a look. I wouldn't go too far, but I'd hardly be a good trainer if I gave up on my Pokèmon that easily. 

    Gritting my teeth, I strode out into the forest, pushing aside stray branches that ripped at my ponytail as I moved forward.   
"Right Ray," I muttered darkly to myself, "No more night time exploring. _Especially_ not in bloody forests!"   
I hadn't gone too far into the gloomy place when I came upon a single clearing, a clearing that housed a sight I certainly wasn't expecting.     Sprawled out across the ground lay our little Mydral friend, lying as stiff as a board with both wings outstretched from its sides. The reason for this stillness? The sharp teeth that were currently clamped around his purple-scaled neck might - just might - have been the reason. Houndour was standing there, his lips pulled back in the best snarl he could make while his mouth was full of Mydral neck. His eyes blazed with a perverse kind of joy as he looked up at me, his stumpy black tail swatting the air furiously behind him.     "Alright!" I cried, "You've got 'im, Hades!"   
I was about to order a bite attack when my conscience caught up to me.   
"Bi-" I cut myself off, "Er, use a… Let go of it and…"   
What could I do? I could finish it for that Mydral right then with but a simple command to my Houndour, but would that be right? I could have Hades drop it and try for a Tackle attack, but I knew from experience that little dragon was literally lightning-fast. Maybe… 

    Reaching into one of the big pockets of my black combats, I produced a red and white sphere. The ball grew in my hand and I gave Mydral a look. Its angular draconic eyes widened at the sight of the Pokèmon catching device.   
"So," I mused, "You know what it means to be captured, huh?"     In reply the little dragon let out a stream of ferocious hisses, spits and the higher version of that wailing cry I had heard earlier, just before what I had guessed to be a Maeldren had shown up. I winced: the last thing I needed was for that thing to turn up even if Entei stuck to his word.     Before Mydral could utter another call, I flung the ball at its head. It bounced on impact, momentarily stunning the creature, before emitting a stream of cerise light that absorbed Mydral out of his captor's jaws. The Pokèball hit the ground with a heavy clunk and rocked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth… 

    TSEEEEW! With a blinding flash the ball exploded open again and Mydral re-emerged, all swishing tail, blazing eyes and angry bolts of lightning.   
"Maaaaaardriiiilllll!" it cried victoriously and leapt at me, fangs bared.   
"Ack!" I yelped as its claws bit into my shoulders, its weight forcing me back into the moist humus that coated the ground.     I managed to get my hands up in time to grab its upper and lower jaws and stop it from biting me, but Mydral's talons still raked my skin, getting tangled and caught in my loose grey fleece. It let out another bawl and suddenly every muscle in my body convulsed. My head crashed back! My limbs flailed erratically, bashing painfully against rocks, ground and tree trunk alike. 

    "DOUR!" In a flash of black, silver and ruddy orange Hades slammed into my attacker, the lightning bolts that rippled down his glossy coat doing little to no damage to my dog Pokèmon in his current enraged state. I managed to roll over enough to see both combatants land, Houndour's claws digging deep into the earth as his muscles rippled like liquid steel beneath his coat. Even his bandaged leg seemed incapable of stopping him.     Before Mydral could do anything Hades had landed a heavy headbutt attack into its gut, sending the electric dragon stumbling back in shock. As I watched on, the little puppy belched out a ring of flame around his body and charged his enemy again, sending it flying and burning simultaneously.     With a pained yell it staggered back and fled into the surrounding undergrowth, one wing trailing at an odd angle and a few claws on its left paw nearly torn off. Smouldering and bleeding, it was gone. 

    Immediately Hades was all over me, his big pink tongue lapping my face hysterically as I pulled myself to my knees. Every part of me ached; you know that feeling you get in your muscles when you run too hard and then stop dead?   
"Good boy Hade." I told him warmly, "You did a great job, yeah?"   
He replied with a happy snuffle, bouncing up and down like a mad thing, before trotting a ways from me. Using a tree to support myself I stood and followed him out of the woods and back into town… 

    Something to remember: Never wonder what the worst thing that could happen might be. Fate has a way of showing you how big its teeth are not long later… 

* * *

**A/N:** Well, as you can see, I'm not quite dead. Not yet at least. ^^; Instead I've been using the majority of my time drawing TONS of stuff, writing _Gamma Legends: The Wrath of Gideon_ with my co-author friends, writing two other fics I intend on making better than this one (but not in this category T_T), moding two forums and invading several others... Well, you get the picture. Still, sorry for the huge wait. Chapter nine is about one-forth done, if that works as any concilation. Anyway, SHOUT-OUTS! XD 

**The Mad Tortoise:** Of yes, I have thought of potential for humour. ^_________^ Writing that part should be a load of fun for me! As for pics, you, I do have 'em. They're in the pokedex section of my Janera League site, which is at Of course, not all my images are up there right now, but I am trying... 

**Keleri:** Yah, it was meant to be sad... Thing is, I loved writing it. O_o In fact, I have a perverse love of killing off characters sooooo... ^_^' Thanks for reviewin'. 

**TopazSoarhire**: ff.net can be a bummer sometimes. ¬.¬ ff.net! You are only redeemed from your mess ups by your greatness otherwise! Now excuse me before I blurt out more rubbish and thanx for th' review! 

**Pheonix Rising:** I don't think I really have the heart to not post chapters when I write them, that's eviiiiiil. Anywayz, if ya do that you might lose readers. That is not something I wanna do. ^.~ As for those little boxes.. I HATE THEM!! I thank my lucky rock that they're finally gone... ¬.¬ 

**LuckyLibra:** Thanks. This fic was originally just me working on my descriptive skils after a very inspiring review I got from Topaz and a nasty dream with Mech... But then along came the plot and well... ^_^ Glad you like it! 

**axestar:** O_o;; Now I'm getting a review from my uncle! This is... weird. Oh well, I'm glad you like it. A lot of work has gone into this ficling! 

**Shenya:** ::gets poked:: Is this an answer to your question? As for writing styles... the problem with Pokemon fiction is that there are all these people writing journey fics that run exactly the same way the show does. Now that, that annoys me. Thanks for the review my newest reader!! 

Well, I'll get back to my typing. I can just say that one of my most original ideas (at least, I think it's my most original! I may be wrong) is coming up in perhaps two chapters time. ME WANNA GET TO THAT CHAPTER NOW!!! ::froths at the mouth:: Damnit!!   
~Obsidian (v_v') 

  


_Pokemon ©1995-2003 Nintendo, GAME FREAK Inc, Creatures Inc.   
Janera and all related creatures, items and landforms ©2002-2004 Obsidian Blade   
Emerald Fist and related plotlines and characters ©2003-2004 Obsidian Blade   
All rights reserved. Theft shall not be tolerated. _


	9. Battle in the woods

**Raven: Emerald Fist  
Mechyena Saga**

by **O**bsidian **B**lade

**Chapter IX:_ Battle in the Woods_**

_Mechyena stepped backwards, its heavy paws nearly slipping in the wetness that was its own blood. Its organic mind was surfacing now through the human-made mist that had clouded it before, causing the huge Pokèmon to whine, whimper and back away as the man standing in front of it raised the whip another time. Lash!_

_"You useless, USELESS hound!"  
_

_ Lash!  
_

_ "I send you on one, simple, **easy **mission: get the birds. Yet what-"  
_

_ Lash!  
_

_ "WHAT did you do?!" All Mech could do in return was let out another yelp of pain as the iron-barbed whip licked its flanks and back, now laid open into tatters.  
_

_ "MESS UP!! THAT'S WHAT!!"_

_The Master was a dangerous looking man at the best of times but now, with his eyes blazing, an unearthly green glow around him, spittle spraying from his mouth and sweat rolling down cheeks flushed with scarlet anger he was nothing short of terrifying. Mechyena whined again in an attempted apology, but all it got in return was another brutal lashing across its powerful forelegs and tender muzzle. It tried to back up even more but found itself already up against the wall, swaying on splayed paws. What had it done? It had only obeyed the orders given to it: kill the big bird and capture the little ones. Why was Master beating it? Had the other men told it wrong?_

_Finally the Emerald leader took a step back to regard the effects of his efforts, but the malicious look in his eyes and coiled strength in his corded muscle didn't fade. He stepped in close, holding the whip now coiled in one hand at his side while the other reached out and grasped Mech under its broad muzzle, raising its now pathetic-looking head to look at it eye to eye. A near-mad smile tugged the corner of his lips upwards and he threatened,  
"Make another mistake and you'll get a lot worse punishment, ShadowSteel. Last time all you did was put us on a timer by killing Articairion. This time you'll do better… by doing a much more minor mission. This one will be more… familiar."_

**ooo**

I walked south towards Goldenrod, Violet and the National Park, Jay analysing a text on the evolution of the Airion twins with growing interest.

_Crick… Crack… Snap…_

I halted abruptly and spun on my heel, eyes scanning the trees bordering the track with amber eyes. The sounds had stopped.

Up ahead Jay sighed, "There's nothing following us, trust me," and continued to walk on.

I frowned and started up again; following the pattern I'd been going through for the last hour and a half.

_Crickcrack, crack snap click._

I resisted the urge to scream._  
_

_ 'Patience, patience… I HAVE NO BLOODY PATIENCE!' Crickcrickcracksnapclick-a-dee-click!_

"Yarg!" I finally cried, spinning furiously and connecting my fist with something less than solid.

A deafening cry went up from the bushes and a hissing bundle of amethyst tumbled out onto the path, long bladed wings spreading akimbo in the dust.

"Ha! I told you!" I boasted to Jay, who peered over the top of his light-weight book with vague interest.

"That's a… a…" he rummaged around in his pocket before producing a metallic red Pokèdex and aiming it at the creature that was very slowly levering itself to its feet.

"Mydral. The little dragon Pokèmon." I said in time to the Pokèdex's mechanical voice, "It inhabits wooded areas close to- WHAT?!"

While I was ready to go on with what my 'Dex had told me earlier about this lovely bundle of joy, Jay's droned out a statement about its hunting styles and ability to get prey out of trees with a simple headbutt move. I decided to let it rest in the face of this new problem as Mydral finally gained its feet.

"Mah-dren-drilyaaaaa…" it wheezed, doing its best to glare at me but only managing to look pathetically weak.

It was then that I noticed the first of the wounds. Long, oozing cuts that sliced through its violet skin seemed to be infected on the Mydral's hide, swelling horrendously and making the Pokèmon look like it'd been through some sort of war.

I tried not to feel guilty but, damn, I was. Those gashes were just the right length to have been created by a Houndour's teeth and claws, more specifically, _Hades'_ teeth and claws. Mydral was dying of blood poisoning because of my little night excursion. Of course, I could always…

"Polienix, go! Peck attack!" I ordered my Pokèmon, flinging her light blue Regenball onto the path.

I'd returned her earlier when she'd fallen asleep on my shoulder and nearly fallen off, and now my friend exploded from her ball in a flash of scarlet. She took a second to orientate herself before flapping hard to gain more height and then plummeting down towards the wounded dragon Pokèmon. Mydral gave a strangled screech at her approach, but it was too weak to do more than let off a few sparks that scattered uselessly off Polienix's powder blue wings.

WHAM! Contact! The baby bird's hard beak rammed into Mydral's flank, lifting it clear off the ground and throwing it three metres. It landed, protesting weakly, on its back and squirmed there in the dirt for a little longer before finally regaining its feet. Hurt golden eyes met Polienix's innocent black orbs as it challenged her to do her worst. Then it collapsed.

"Pokéball go!"

I tossed one of my last two Pokèballs through the air and it bounced neatly off Mydral, opening in mid-bounce to pull him up inside as a beam of red. The ball landed. Shook. One, two, three times. And then…

CLINK. Mydral had just been too weak to resist. Peck alone had down the trick. I couldn't help but grin, if Mydral was as powerful as it had seemed to be yesterday I'd just caught more than a major asset to my team. Jay sighed as I shot him a triumphant look, admitting defeat with a sigh and the closing of his book.

"So," he said, "Send it out."

I shook my head, "First tell me why my Pokèdex gave a diffe-" I clamped my mouth shut, "Uh, I mean… sure, sure I'll send it out."

He raised his eyebrows at my hurried cover-up of last night but said nothing… although I could tell it would come up again later.

From the shiny orb I held in my hand shot a beam of red, spreading and melding to create the shape of a grumpy-looking little dragon. It looked like it wanted to shock me sky high, but at the same time I could see the weakness that chained it to the ground. Weakness the actions of both myself and my Pokèmon had inflicted upon it. Without thought I whipped out potion and berry and held them out to it, tipping back the bottle so as to make sure he got every last drop even as it gagged on the bitter taste.

"Drrriiiiiiillll…" it complained as I moved the bottle away, moving onto an arrogant sounding "Ma yirill dral!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Sorry, didn't understand a word of that." I held out the berry again, "Eat this."

Mydral sniffed self-righteously as if I had insulted it but held out its sharp-taloned hands to accept the berry. It sniffed the fruit, maybe curiously, perhaps just suspiciously, as I aimed the sensor of my 'Dex at it and hit the statistics button on the left.**"Level 19 Mydral, male, knowing the moves Thundershock, thunder wave, tackle, agility, headbutt and growl. Arrogant temperament." **it chimed, descriptions of each move my new Pokèmon knew displaying on the small screen.

"Level 19, huh?" Jay commented, "I'm surprised you managed to catch it - it must have been pretty badly wounded before it bumped into us." His sea green eyes never left my face as he spoke, gauging my reaction. So, he was suspicious now… I covered up the grimace from the thought of hurting something that badly and then leaving it to die from my face with a quick 'He's a he, not an it' and 'I guess I only caught him because I'm perfect!'. I was glad Jay didn't know me too well yet; otherwise he would have known that my normal reaction would have been to simply shrug.

_"Humph."_ something snorted from knee-height, _"The stupid humahn girl thinks she is perfect! I, Rahijin, shahll show her true perfection, better thahn ahnything her mindless slahve dog could do!"_

I looked down to see Mydral sitting catlike in the dust and staring up at me with golden eyes that glittered with unrepressed self-importance. I'd managed to capture Mr. Ego! " 'Slahve dog'?" I imitated, "You mean Hades?"

He snorted haughtily, _"Nahmes given by humahns hahve no relevahnce. He is ah slahve ahdn ah dog. Ahnd,"_ he lifted his violet chin two proud inches higher, _"He wins only by chahnce."_

Man! This guy reminded me of a vain Sarski, constantly preening himself - only with words rather than beak. "If you're so strong," Jay speculated smartly, keeping his expression carefully blank although I could see his eyes dancing, "How did you end up with all those wounds?"

I felt my stomach sink, _'Uh oh…'_ while Mydral, Raijin I suspected, gave my companion the dirtiest look I'd ever seen.

_"The girl ahnd her puppy were lucky," _he spat venomously,_ "Ahnd she kicked me."_ Suddenly I found myself on the receiving end of that same angry dragon stare as well as Jay's questioning look. I'd meant to keep the whole creeping-out-at-night thing silent but if he asked I really couldn't lie. It wasn't one of those things I would do, not unless the person I was lying to was on my 'most hated' list. I prepared myself, ready to spill it all…

But he never asked. Instead his expression changed to a knowing one and Jay swapped his interest down to my newest Pokèmon. I decided it was probably best to do the same.

"Look, Raijin - or whoever you are - how about we test that so-called strength of yours on the next thing I battle, eh?" I suggested, "**Then** you can gloat about your amazing strength; not now!" Mydral turned away so he was facing the way we had been going before his appearance had stopped us. Scornfully he looked back over his shoulder, as if we were barely worth his attention.

_"I've no need to prove myself, pahthetic humahn." _he hissed coldly, _"You will see, Rahijin can defeaht anything** without** his foolish trahner's help."_

Needless to say, he didn't stay out of his Pokèball for much longer after that.

We travelled at a steady rate for the next three hours, myself capturing a jumpy coward of a Spinarak while Jay committed his whole Airion tome to a seemingly photographic memory as we passed over the border between routes 37 and 36 and met the place where the road split. Jay wrinkled his nose, "Goldenrod or Violet?"

I bit my lip, I had been intending on going straight to Goldenrod like it were some sort of homing beacon but Violet would probably be more economical, so to speak…

"Um, well, I think…" I glanced up at the sky in attempt to make the decision easier and realised just how dark it was getting; and not due to dusk either. A grey tide of cloud was creeping its way up the west side of the bright blue sky, appearing almost as it were brushing the carpet of green that marked the bushy vegetation that lined most routes. The temperature was sinking rapidly in typical autumn style and it suddenly occurred to me that Violet was that much closer than Goldenrod. Yet another reason against my typical city-girl instinct…

"Hey, watch out!"

Question: what's small, obnoxious and twig-like that enjoys disrupting the thoughts of others? Can't figure that one out? Well then, consider yourself lucky this would-be-enigma of a creature was ready to tell… As I dodged a rock solid looking Metapod that had apparently just sprung itself from its Pokèball, a boy stepped out into the path.

"My name's Alan." he announced as if knowledge of this fact was essential to survival, "And I challenge you to a Pokèmon battle for ¥512!" I looked him over for some sign of his Pokèmon battling prowess but found only what I had originally seen: a skinny little stick of a kid with pale skin, blue cotton shorts and a blue t-shirt with the faded pattern of a Bulbasaur on the sleeve. He adjusted a dirty 'Celadon Cactori' cap on his mop of black hair and frowned at me, "Well?"

I blinked, "Are you new to this?"

"Started half a week ago in Goldenrod. Been moseying around here ever since. Like it makes a difference." he responded with a shrug.

I weighed my odds: some little kid with a Metapod and who-knows-what versus me, Polienix, Hades, Raijin and Spinarak. Sounded pretty good, really.

"Fine." I decided, not realising that the minute I had looked this guy in the eye battle was compulsory.

He replied with a smirk, "Sick 'em, Metapod." The bug Pokèmon that had nearly knocked me flat only a minute before wriggled its painfully slow way over to sit in front of its trainer, giving me plenty of time to plot.

_'A bug, eh?'_ I mused,_ 'I still haven't lived up to my own challenge and used Raijin in a fight but he'd hardly have a type advantage. Same goes for Arina, she won't have a chance being such a coward…' _

I glanced from Pol to Hades' Pokèball, pondering. In the end I chose the latter of the two, hoping to use the experience he gained batting off Pidgey and Ladyba earlier. It took me a while to find his Pokèball inside the chaos of my overstuffed pocket though and by the time the sturdy shape of a Houndour had materialized on the ground the enemy Metapod had already hardened. Twice.

I growled, sure that that was against the rules, but the newbie that I was could hardly quote the league guidelines to prove it. Instead I just ground my teeth together and hoped that Hades could teach this guy a lesson.

"Houndour, tackle attack!" I ordered angrily.

"Dour!" His charcoal head whipped around to face his opponent, blunt orange muzzle aimed straight at the hard green carapace of the cocoon creature. With a canine battle cry Hades launched himself forwards, thick silver claws slicing up the ground into a substance not unlike cocoa powder that instantly reminded me of the insubstantiality of my breakfast.

"Wait for it…" Alan advised his creature, "Just wait… wait…. Wait…"

Houndour ploughed on, as determined as a pet after a stick, blindly running where he had been ordered to go…

"MEGA HARDEN!" my opponent cried, bouncing up onto his toes.

Metapod glowed in response, raising its upper body and letting out a rain of sticky-looking thread. The stuff was yanked back as it reached the end of its lead, splattering onto Metapod like glue and hardening onto its body. There was a sound like a crushed soda bottle and the light faded, revealing a much harder looking bug.

Realisation hit.

"Hades," I yelped, "You've got to-"

I stopped in mid-sentence as my Pokémon suddenly sliced his speed. For a second I thought he'd put one and one together and for once made two; but as he dipped his head to the ground I remembered a brief lesson my mother had taught be on Houndour - they had extremely poor vision that only improved with evolution. Hades had lost sight of the motionless Metapod and was now searching the grass for its still form! And that single design defect had saved him from a harsh knock on the bug's solid carapace. He sniffle-sniffed as way toward Metapod, getting closer and closer with tail wagging up a storm. So close… just a few feet, no, one foot, no, _half_ a foot…

Metapod reacted.

Swinging its extra-hard body the cocoon Pokémon rammed itself into Hades' head, sending the puppy falling back with a yelp. With a growl he stuck back right on target, sinking sharp canines deep into Metapod's body. Threadlike cracks spread from the points of impact in a web like pattern as our enemy thrashed wildly, letting out strange whirring noises. It shook itself as hard as a near immobile bug could but Hades' grip was like iron and he just would not let go.

Despite his Pokémon's nasty predicament Alan kept a surprisingly clear head.

"Metapod," he commanded, "Stringshot attack at close range!"

"Quick Hades, let go and MOVE!" I countered wildly.

But my Pokémon ignored me, biting down even harder as the cracks widened, bearing a tiny sliver of what looked like wet black and white tissue paper to the elements. Metapod, however, was completely respondent to its trainer's commands and sent a spurt of that same liquid thread at my puppy Pokémon. At the last second Hades tried to escape but the goo hit him, solidifying on his body like silly string and impeding his movement. And Metapod kept firing, was it trying to encase him in that stuff? Whatever it was planning, it was hardly beneficent for Houndour. I needed a plan and fast!

"Wait…" I muttered, then turned it into a shout of, "HADES! Use Ember on the string Metapod is firing! You remember the burny attack, right?"

Apparently so, luckily, and ruby red flames forked out of his mouth, flickering and flicking like an Ekans' tongue. The hungry fire found its mark with devastating precision and caught the long length of string as easily as if it were doused in petrol. It zipped along the line, hitting both combatants but doing much more damage to the type-weak Metapod.

In a blind panic the creature tried to twist away, throwing a loop of String Shot around it that instantly went up, surrounding it in a burning prison. The heat distorted the air above Metapod as it screeched and writhed; I couldn't help but pity it. Apparently Alan felt the same way.

"Metapod, return!" he called in defeat, bringing his roasted bug back to the refuge of its ball, "The round goes to you. Change Pokémon!"

Even as he spoke he flung a distinctive red and blue Great Ball onto the field, the beam solidifying into a humanoid creature. It was tan in colour, with a canine-looking face and a long, slender tail tipped with a bushy brush of fur. It held its tail between two chubby fingers and flicked the olive-dipped tip dismissively in my direction.

**"Smeargle, the painter Pokémon. It marks the boundaries of its territory using a body fluid that leaks out from the tip of its tail. Over 5,000 different marks left by this Pokémon have been found."** my Pokédex told me. I considered this for a second, then decided that I really didn't have that much to lose. And, after all, I had promised/challenged… Grabbing Raijin's Pokéball from my pocket I hurled it onto the field

"Raijin, tackle attack!" I ordered as soon as his paws hit the floor but the arrogant little creature just scoffed at me.

_"Don't be stupid, humahn."_ he sniffed, _"I cahn mahnahge myself!"_ Switching his attention away from me the electric dragon powered his legs and shot at Smeargle full speed. As he ran his body seemed to flicker, splitting into one, two, three, even more Mydral that kept the same pace and target.

"Agility, huh?" Jay commented to himself, eyes glued to the battle, "This should be interesting…"

"Smeargle, don't let it hit you!" my foe commanded, "Stop it in its tracks with a rock tomb attack!"

Raijin's confidence seemed to flicker a little at that choice of attack but he continued his charge even as the canine artist held up its tail and flicked a few drops of green paint into the air. Globules met globules as the acrid substance joined together in the air, hardening and darkening into…

"RAIJIN!" I cried, "Rocks, damnit, _rocks!"_

Too late! The huge boulders plummeted at the charging electric type, shattering the fake copies of him like glass as they smashed into the ground. BAM BAM BAM! The barrage seemed never-ending, but through it all I could still see a purple streak. Expertly, Raijin swerved around stone after stone, using a flutter of his huge leathery wings to propel himself up onto the top of an upright rock. Claws bit deep and he shot forward, sending a quick Thundershock slamming into a panicking Smeargle, its body going into wild convulsions as bright sparks shot through its system. Fighting against the odds, the now blackened Smeargle ripped itself out of possible paralysis and, takings its long, rope-like tail in both hands, flicked the paintbrush tip at Mydral once again. He didn't have the time to react even with the speed boost of his agility and was caught hard in the side by a furious burst of flame that flicked him backwards through the air.

"Yeah, Smeargle! Flamethrower it again!" Alan cried simultaneously with my own yelp of "Raijin, use your tail to stop that attack!"

Raijin, squirming to regain his feet in the battle-muddied earth, shot me a death glare and flared a wing to right himself. I scrunched my eyes shut as another bout of hungry flames sent my Pokèmon reeling back, wishing beyond wishes that he'd just _obey me_. Luckily (or perhaps not so), despite the heavy damage he'd received, the purple dragon flipped back from the blow, landing on one of the rocks left by Smeargle's Rock tomb and glaring down at the other Pokémon._"You ahre ah fool, Smeahrgle."_ he scoffed, raising his chin and looking down on the normal type as if it were inferior, _"No-one cahn defeaht Rahijin!"_

Even as I resisted the urge to slap my forehead in humiliation Mydral leapt forward again, opening both giant wings to full spread and gaining swift height from two strong flaps.

"Smeargle, use your-"

He never got to finish that sentence. Raijin jerked his wings flat against his side and plummeted headfirst into his foe, hardy skull smashing smack-dab into the centre of its chest. It was thrown down and back by the blow, sent skidding over the sandy terrain to end up at Alan's feet. For a second it convulsed, trying to get back up, but gave into darkness and fainted. For a second both myself, Raijin, Jay and Alan were silent. Then Alan sighed and shrugged.

"Good battle, I guess." he conceded, returning his fainted Smeargle and digging around in his pocket, "Here, ¥512. The Spoils of Battle rule says you earned it."

I accepted my somewhat ill-gotten gains, squealing with excitement on the inside as I pocketed the cash.

"Thanks." I responded, doing my best not to A) smirk or B) sound smug.

He waved a childish hand at me, "Yeah yeah, I'll beat you next time."

"You wish!" I called after him as he spun on his heel and trotted off in the direction of Violet city. Raijin looked up at me as I zipped up my pocket, his gold eyes so damn smug I wasn't sure whether I was going to kick him or just laugh from my first success.

_"Now you must ahdmit it, humahn."_ he pointed out, turning his gaze to examine his golden talons as he tilted them to catch the light, _"I ahm ah superior fighting force."_ "A superior fighting force who got himself charred." said Jay, unable to resist flashing a I'm-going-to-laugh sort of smile.  
Mydral huffed, _"Thaht wahs mere chahnce. A flahmethrower ahttahck wahs hahrdly expected."_

_"Isn't that the point of having a trainer?"_ Polienix suggested, _"So you don't have to decide every move you pull?"_

She winced as he shot her an icy glare.

_ "Shut up, child. You don't know whaht you're tahlking ahbout."_

It went on like that for maybe thirty seconds more before I whipped out a trusty Pokéball and promptly returned said dragon.

Jay smirked, "On reflection, you'd have done better not to catch him, eh?"

I just growled, "He'll end up beneficial, I swear."

We tramped on for maybe another half hour, never catching up with Alan but not really caring. I let Spin and Hades out of their Pokéballs and Jay released Magenix, Fidranger and Cerberus for some exercise. We talked a bit, about training and catching and travelling but mostly my companion just read out extracts from his 'Airion leaflet. By the time the sun was dipping low in the sky and the lights of civilization were flickering through the trees I'd learned that there were two different forms of Articairion: the peaceful recovery-based bird that Pol's mother had been and the more hawk shaped and somewhat smaller attacking kind. There were plenty of other little things too but those were the ones that stood out in my mind most. If Polienix was to evolve did I want her to become the attacker or the healer? Did I even care? Did she care? My mind twisted over these details again and again until they became a mass of exhaustion and Jay had to grab me to stop me from tripping over my own feet face-first onto the first stretch of pavement marking the being of Violet city.

"You alright?" he inquired as he let me stand freely and snatched his book from where it had fallen.

I gave him a quick but probably not too reassuring smile and nodded.

"Just tired." I told him truthfully, patting Hades on the head to tell him the same.

Jay nodded in reply and returned Magenix, who had been chattering like a parrot, and Cerb, who kept trying to wander into the bushes and lead the way into Violet, Fidranger by his side.

_"It's bright." _a sleepy Pol noticed as we entered, _"And brighter than that other place."_ She was right: Violet city was bustling with life in the early hours of twilight.

Restaurants full of happy people cast puddles of golden light out onto the grey-paved streets and each corner was marked with a street light in blue hues. Past the restaurants and the neon lights of the packed yet lonely nightclub nestled identical houses with two floors and tiny gardens out front. I had yet to see the gym, which I believed to be flying-type based, but I could just make out the shape of the ancient Sprout Tower, which enticed an inwards groan from me. Jay was going to want to see that, I was sure.

But obviously not right now, as he was steering us towards the Pokémon centre that was not too far ahead. My head twisted and my feet slowed as we passed a squat building marked with the Johto League symbol but Jay kept walking and I could see very little in the dark. Was that a trainer podium I saw on the roof? Well, whether it was or it wasn't I was going to have to wait 'til tomorrow, so that's what I did.

* * *

** Sarski, the peacock Pokémon. Obsidian: It has an obsession with cleaning its wings, often spending hours preening. It thinks very highly of itself but will go into hiding to cover a glitch in its beauty should it loose a feather. Pearl: An extremely vain creature, this Pokémon thinks itself above hunting and other mundane tasks. As a result, the species has a dwindling population due to the large figure starved.**

* * *

**A/N:** Well, there you have it. The first proper trainer battle I've written aside from two scabby attempts from my previous Pokemon fiction. I hope it wasn't too bad! I suppose at least someone's noticed that this chapter is particularly short and doesn't seem to have anything much in it (aside from the capture of the characters Raijin and Arina... who I didn't stop to describe yet. ¬.¬). Yes? No? Well, whether you realised or not, this chapter was actually meant to encompass the events happening upon entrance to Violet city. However, just this much was nine, nearly ten pages on Works and I realised that, with what I'm currently writing added on, we'd end up with a monsterous twenty-odd page long chappie. In my opinion that's not a good thing as attentions might lag and, well, I quite like some of the situations in ten. It'd be a shame if people missed those because it was just too long. ¬.¬ Anyway, as always my brain has been pumped full of ideas during the time I wasn't writing, both for another fic (that I'm putting off until I've got at least to chapter fifteen) and some very interesting plot twists. So I can assure you that R: EF is only gonna get better! It's not all going to be quite so journey-ish as it is now, either, although there will always be journey elements to it. Not to disappoint, of course.  
Cassco the British author-type 

_Pokemon ©1995-2003 Nintendo, GAME FREAK Inc, Creatures Inc.  
Janera and all related creatures, items and landforms ©2002-2004 Obsidian Blade  
Emerald Fist and related plotlines and characters ©2003-2004 Obsidian Blade  
All rights reserved. Theft shall not be tolerated._


	10. Day of the Triffids

My appologies about taking so long to update; this chapter was really weighing me down, along with exams, school... you know the distractions. I got out of school for the summer on Wednesday (7/7/04), though, so now I've plenty of time to work on this. I've also re-done my site and the illustrations for this fic are there - you can find the link through my profile. Hope y'all like this twenty-two page long addition to the series! 

**Raven: Emerald Fist **

Mechyena Saga 

by **O**bsidian **B**lade 

**Chapter X: _Day of the Triffids_**

"Leechseed!" 

"Repel it with Reflect!" 

"Quick, use a Vine Whip to tie that thing down!" 

I groaned and rolled over, but the voices continued. 

"No! Spoink! Use your Confusion to remove those vines and knock that thing flying!" a female voice was ordering. 

"Fidranger, grab it!" a familiar male voice countered. 

One that I definitely recognised as Polienix cried out, _"Wowie!"_

So, my Pokémon was outside. And there was a battle going on. Whoopee, I still wasn't getting up! 

"Spoink, you gotta keep it up," the female encouraged, "It can't hold on forever!" 

"Fidranger, you know what to do." Jay quipped smoothly. 

I pulled the pillow over my ears and scrunched my eyes up, but to no avail. 

"Just shut up…" I whined and, to my surprise, they did, if only for a moment. 

Then there was a cracking noise that reminded me of that of a whip and a heavy thud before quite a few voices went crazy. They were speaking loud and fast now, too many voices at once, so I abandoned all thought of getting back to sleep and lurched up, pulling my oversized t-shirt down further down over my monster thighs. 

Outside the sun had decided to hide, leaving the sky grey and overcast in typical late-autumn style. I can't say I liked that, but at least I wasn't being blinded. Looking down I saw a small crowd of people, crowing over two trainers who seemed to have just finished their battle. On one side a girl with mousy brown hair was fussing over a whacked-out pig-on-a-spring. She wore a light pink tank top and pale blue jeans; her hair tied back with a yellow ribbon, and appeared to be the picture of sissy weakness I hated so much. 

Opposite her Jay was congratulating his Fidranger, who had apparently just pulled off some amazing technique from the way the crowd was buzzing around him. By pure chance my travelling partner glanced up and caught sight of me staring drowsily out the window, giving me one of his strange smiles as he accepted a wad of notes from the defeated girl. He waved his mini-fan club of locals away from his confused looking Fidranger and headed back into the Centre, Polienix taking off from a nearby tree to follow him in before the door closed. 

I let out a sigh, it looked like I was going to have to get up and face the committee of morning-types downstairs or face Jay's wrath as I made us late getting to the gym… or that stupid tower. Calling my protesting limbs to order I somehow dressed myself and staggered downstairs to the Pokémon Centre restaurant, perking up only a little when I smelt breakfast cooking. 

I blamed the stares I was getting from the trainers staying at the centre to the after-effects of leaving my hairbrush back in Malmarsh, gave my order to a far-too-cheerful Chansey standing near the serving bar and scanned the tables for my friends. It took Polienix's distinctive powder blue plumage to find them and, as I neared their chosen booth, I realised that his was due to Jay's change of appearance. 

He was counting out his spoils of war carefully, marking out the amounts onto a scrap of notepaper I guessed he had been given by the waitress, and his hair was free of the nasty gel he'd worn before. Instead it stuck up almost alarmingly in places, adding a good three inches to his height. Clothes-wise he'd changed to a pair of dangerously baggy jeans and a short sleeved fleece with the zip up the middle left open. Beneath that he wore a long-sleeved white top that bulged slightly over the green swath around his wrist. He looked… different, to say the least. 

"So," he started as I sat across from him in the small, red upholstered booth, "You saw my early morning battle." 

I snorted while he carefully deposited his money in a zip-up pocket in his fleecy top. 

"No, I heard it. Forcibly, might I add." I swirled the cream on the surface of the mug of warm milk another waitress Chansey had provided me with, "What was it that got that crowd of yours so excited anyway?" 

Jay smirked after swallowing a bite of croissant and said, with a mischievous grin, "Oh, you know, stuff." 

When I glared at him he raised his hands in mock-surrender and continued. 

"Fine, fine, it was just a little move combo I taught 'Ranger yesterday morning - hold the enemy down with Vine Whip and then strike hard with tackle. 

"You know," he continued, taking a gulp of coffee and wiping his mouth while giving me a beseeching look, "You'd do well to work out some combos of your own, your Pokémon could benefit it. After all, the other trainer never knows what to expect when you call out some random-sounding command." 

It was through that suggestion that the two of us ended up in a patch of long grass in Route 31 nearly an hour later, just east of Violet. The wind hissed through the grass like an Arbok on fire, flicking it about violently and occasionally blowing dust up into our eyes. I grimaced as we waded through the sea of green, hunching my shoulders protectively as I shielded my eyes from yet another blast. 

"Not the best of weather!" Jay commented, glancing up at the unwelcoming sky with a frown, "But it'll have to do!" 

He released first Magenix and then Fidranger into the wide space between us as I stopped opposite him, considering having a go at teaching my two newest companions but quickly vetoing the idea in favour of Hades and Polienix. 

The four materialised into the grass, Fidranger sitting back into the grass so that only the tips of her holly-leaf ears protruded and giving Hades a deadpan stare as he bounded up to her enthusiastically. Polienix and Magenix said their quick hellos and we were ready. 

"Right." Jay spoke up, raising his voice above the rustling grass, "It'll take some imagination, but I think we can do this. 

"First, you have to figure out what sort of natural weapons your Pokémon has. Claws, teeth, spines, flippers, elemental attacks, wings, you name it. Keep those in your mind's eye while you remember the Pokémon's existing moves and try to think of how to combine a few." 

I nodded thoughtfully, chewing my lip, as I scrolled through first Polienix and then Hades' move sets and limbs. A tail, legs, teeth, beak, feathers, paws, talons, claws… Ember, Powder Snow, Peck, Bite… I could tell Jay was doing the same as I through the deepening creases on his brow as it furrowed in thought. 

After maybe three minutes, Jay spoke to Magenix. 

"Try whipping up a gust attack," he said slowly, "And then using the winds to create a fire tornado, or something of the like." Magenix, who had been cruising lazily through the air and riding the insistent wind, clipped his tail feathers and lowered himself closer to his trainer. 

_"Wouldn't that be nothing more than a glorified FireSpin, admiral?" _he pointed out, landing on my friend's shoulder to drag his yellow beak through his ruby plumage. 

Jay shook his head, nearly dislodging his fire bird. 

"No, FireSpin involves surrounding the enemy in flames to prevent movement. This will create a swirling pillar of flame that, hopefully, you'll be able to control through additional gusts." He grinned, "Savvy?" 

Although he didn't look too sure, Magenix nodded his acceptance and fluttered into the air. 

_'A flaming tail attack? No, it'll hurt Hades more than it will the opponent. Snow flick? Not sure. What about…' _

I was too lost in my own thoughts to absorb all of what Jay was saying. I rattled through thought after thought, idea after idea when suddenly… 

_"Ray!"_

Polienix cried out a warning from the air, but she was way too late. I simply looked up stupidly. 

"Wha-" 

Whoosh! Before I could so much as take another breath, Magenix released the best gust of wind he could muster from his short wings, absolutely pelting all those on the ground with dirt and grit. 

"Argh!" I made the mistake of yelping, earning myself a mouthful of the stuff as I tried pathetically to shield my face from the wind with my arms. 

"Magenix!" I heard Jay cry out, slightly muffled as though he had protected himself with the collar of his fleece - lucky sod. 

"Magenix, STOP!" 

_"Right ho, el-captain!" _I heard the bird respond, although he seemed to be slightly out of breath. 

Slowly the howling gale died away, revealing two cowering dog Pokémon, Polienix holding onto a tree for all she was worth and Jay cowering behind his clothing. Magenix blushed as I spat out a mouthful of muck, the feathers across this face darkening with embarrassment. 

_"Well, err, it seems that I, um, lack the necessary, well, **discipline** to keep my gust attack into one, erm, towering tornado-type creation." _he admitted, sweating, _"Maybe a few levels later...?"_

Jay shook his head doggedly, no. 

"If you aim away from us," he decided avidly, "We can keep trying until we can control those winds!" 

_"Whaht's this 'we' he keeps tahlking ahbout?!" _one of my Pokéballs exclaimed angrily, _"Look aht ahll the sahnd in here! It's ah disgrahce!"_

"You betcha." I agreed sourly, my mouth gritty and dry. 

Silently wishing that I'd brought some kind of drink with me, I turned to Polienix who was still perched on her talon-torn branch. 

"Alright." I croaked dustily as the wind picked up at my back, "How about we try some moves of our own, eh?" 

Ignoring an insulted-sounding cry of _"whaht is it with you humahns ahnd ahll these plurahls?"_ I started to explain to Polienix exactly what it was I wanted her to do. 

"Understand?" I queried for the final time after five minutes explaining and then explaining again. 

_"Well…" _Pol responded doubtfully,_ "I guess…"_

She was hovering in the air above the grass clearing, trying to keep herself in one place even as her brother caused howling winds that were anything but Jay's dream of control behind her and I stood, partially hidden, in the meagre excuse for foliage lining the path. Fighting back the familiar twinge of paranoia at my recollection of the last brush I had with bush-bound things, I gave my uncertain companion the thumbs up. 

_"Alright then!"_

With those words the sky above Polienix suddenly deepened into a much darker hue, turning threatening and black. The temperature dropped considerably and snow began to fall, faster and faster until it became a flurry of the pristine white powder. Polienix continued to call down the powder snow, pulling it to her until it was at least a foot deep right beneath her. 

That done she landed in it, talons somehow avoiding sinking, and swept back her wing. 

_"Frozen flurry!"_ she declared and dug her wing, feather-tips down, into the snow. 

Taking a deep breath she pulled hard, aiming to fling the snow in the direction her enemy would be… 

And stayed there. Stuck. 

Cheeping angrily to herself, she huffed, puffed and strained against the heavy weight, doing her downright best to complete my botched-up idea for an attack. Tiny claws scrabbling for purchase as she aided one wing with another, Pol didn't even hear my cries for her to stop. 

"It's a failure of a plan!" I yelped, ploughing through the snow as I tried to reach her, "Stop, Pol, it isn't doing anything! You'll only hurt yourself!" 

_"No, no…" _she persisted, wrenching even harder, _"Look, it's…"_

She stopped to sweatdrop as her wing came free, catapulting a full load of freezing cold mush into my face and causing me to fall splat on my back, limbs spread-eagled. I lay there, perfectly still, as I struggled to contain my temper. 

_"Well, it did work eventually!" _Pol pointed out optimistically, appearing beside my shoulder and peering down at me. 

I groaned. I couldn't take any more of her bloody "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" attitude. Whatever happened to the joys of sarcasm? Of being serious or pessimistic or… 

"All happy people should be shot on the spot!" I finally screamed after two hours' worth of time wasted on combination techniques. 

So far we had come up with one new move: dash into bushes as attack goes wild. Lifesaving in training, perhaps, although I had a strong feeling that its usefulness might well fade in proper battle. 

Letting myself flop down onto a drier portion of ground I watched huge grey clouds rumble across the sky and listened distractedly as Jay ordered Magenix - who had been taking a break - to have one final try. I closed my eyes as the wind picked up again, replaying the nicer parts of my journey so far on the screen of my eyelids. I remembered freeing Polienix, first setting eyes on Olivine, Violet and Ecruteak, capturing Hades - albeit accidentally - and actually meeting a legendary! As all of it swirled and coursed through my head, like the slightly more controlled gust that was currently building near Magenix, I realised that the concept of time had failed me completely so far: I had no idea how long I had been on the road. A few weeks, perhaps. Maybe only one. I didn't know. 

The sound of Jay's voice snapped me out of my silent reverie and I sat bolt upright as Magenix blew a mushroom of flickering flame into a fairly ground-hugging "tornado". The fire billowed out, twisting as it passed through the abnormal air currents, then passed through to the other side without much effect. Luckily the blaze didn't touch the grass, simply searing overhead and niftily through a hole in a bush before burning out completely. 

"Yikes!" a voice screeched from the undergrowth as a familiar stick-shaped boy tumbled out of the bushes, arms crossed defensively as if to ward away the fire. 

Standing up and whirling to face us, Alan was still decked out in shorts and a t-shirt, his cap sitting jauntily on the side of his head. 

"You two!" he complained, "Watch it with the fire!" 

He peered closer as he spoke, finding the girl who'd beaten him earlier sitting in the grass beside her bird Pokémon, a pile of melting snow in the centre of the clearing, Hades still trying to impress Fidranger and Jay and Magenix looking defeated at the failure of another attempt. I suppose two and two miraculously made four in his mind, as he jabbed a finger at us all. 

"You're training your Pokémon!" he cried. Likely to be a rocket scientist when he grows up, eh? 

"Or trying to." I corrected pessimistically, collapsing back into the prone position. 

The boy considered this for a while before offering me a hand. 

"I know a good place to train." He told me, "It's the best place for miles!" 

My speculating gaze roved from hand to face, not entirely trusting. Jay, on the other hand… He perked right up. A chance to improve on the failure he and Magenix had experienced earlier? From the spark in his ocean eyes, I thought not, somehow… 

Taking my chances, I accepted Alan's hand and he "helped" - read: hauled to the point in which I was just waiting for the pop as his arm fell off - me to my feet. 

"It's that a-way." Alan informed us, "Y'know the big tower? I'll take ya there!" 

I resisted the urge to slap my forehead and sink into the pit of "oh-my-gawd-I'm-so-stupid" oblivion. Instead, well… 

Sprout Tower was taller than its burnt Ecruteakian counterpart. It was built of light coloured wood – perhaps oak – and had windows screened with rice paper going almost to the top. I wondered to myself as we approached the tower whether they were replaced each time it rained but Jay abolished that train of thought by pointing out the sliding shutters currently locked up in the walls. His face was set in a look of awe as we came closer, following the bounding Alan. 

Inside, that same rice paper coloured the stormy outside light to a calming golden hue, although it was admittedly also quite gloomy. The walls were particularly hard (probably for training purposes) and men and women with shaved heads, their bodies decked out in starched white robes, stood silently in the corners or spoke among themselves. What surprised me most, however, was the central pillar. 

_"It… moves!"_ Polienix, mistress of the obvious, exclaimed as she flitted from my shoulder and over to the swaying wooden pillar. 

"Well, that at least proves that I'm not hallucinating." I muttered to myself darkly, unheard to Jay who was quick on Pol's tail. 

He placed a hand against the smooth surface, leaning over a fence probably placed there to stop people from doing exactly what he had just done to get at the pillar. 

"Amazing…" the boy murmured, his eyes practically gleaming at this phenomenon. 

"I don't see how this is-" 

"The tower is said to be built around the body of a giant Bellsprout." A wizened old voice interrupted him, although not unkindly, "What you are touching is its plant-like stem." 

The speaker was a wrinkled specimen of male humanity, stooped with age and leaning heavily on a walking stick. Unlike the Sprout sages that hung about this man wore a knobbly green jumper with leather patches over the elbows, completing the ensemble with tattered cream corduroys. 

Jay, naturally, didn't care what the mysterious man looked like. 

"You know a lot about the tower then?" he inquired hopefully. 

"Oh of course, young man." responded the guy, slapping a hand on my companion's shoulder and steering him away from the pillar, "Now, nearly 200 years ago…" 

I sighed as he started a long, meaningless talk on the tower's history and turned away to leave him to it. Together, Polienix, Alan and I gave the "Bellsprout" one last pat before making our way past a busy white-robed Sage up onto the first floor. 

"Boring historic stuff," Alan sniffed disgustedly once we were out of earshot, "The good thing around here is the training and exploring opportunities!" 

I raised my eyebrows at him, "Exploring?" but all he did in reply was shoot me an aggravating smirk and continue up, leaving me to stew behind him. 

On the second floor up, a floor devoid of distracting things like Sages, trainers or old men with no fashion sense, we stopped and I released Hades and, with somewhat more hesitance, Raijin from their Pokéballs. Alan quickly followed suit with Smeargle and Metapod. 

_"Ahbout time." _Raijin spluttered, glaring at Hades who snarled right back, _"Stupid humahn and her stupid slahve dog."_

I ignored him as he went on to insult Smeargle, every bit of abuse lost on the dim-witted creature, and held my forth Pokéball, the one containing my most recent of catches, near my face. 

"Hey, Arina?" I spoke gently, "I'm going to let you out to meet the others and learn a few more moves, alright?" 

I was being careful for a reason: Arina the Spinarak had a bad case of what Magenix had dubbed "all-things-living-especially-humans-phobia"… basically the most yellow belly I'd ever heard of. The last thing I wanted was to end up chasing the slippery little spider around the whole of Sprout tower, making a complete arse of myself while doing so. 

I carefully tapped the bottom of the ball against my palm and the red beam filtered out onto the floor, forming the shape of a tiny little creature. Arina was spider shaped, complete with yellow legs, a green body and blue stripes that circled her bulk in concentric circles. For a second she just sat there, twin red fangs twitching open and closed as she looked about, but it didn't last long. 

_"AHHHHHHHH!" _she screamed, seeing me, _"HUMAAAAAAAN!"_

Firing up her little legs, the Spinarak shot away from me as I grabbed for her and whizzed off to hide behind Raijin, who gave her a scathing look. 

_"How pahthetic, Spinahrahk."_ he commented, _"Running from ah simple humahn when whaht you reahlly should be running from is ME!"_

At the last word he whipped his long tail at the shivering arachnid and she took off like an athlete from the blocks. Not fast enough, I realised as she got a whipping to the behind that sent her spinning off course into Hades' rump, the impact knocking her down and out instantly. 

"Dour?" Hades woofed questioningly, looking over his shoulder inquisitively at Arina's twitching body as Alan nearly busted a gut laughing. 

I glared at the boy menacingly and lifted my newest Pokémon from the ground. 

"It's not funny." I sniffed, returning Arina, "Now, let's get started." 

Wiping a tear from his eye, Alan swallowed his laughter. 

"I should tell you," he warned, "When we start training the Bellsprout notices the difference and makes the air go all hazy and stuff. My mum called it a… a _weak parararalysing agent_." He told me, proud of his vocabulary even though I doubted he even knew what it meant, let alone how to pronounce it. 

"It won't actually paralyse any of us," he continued, "But it'll make it harder to move so the Pokémon have to work harder to move. **That's **why Sprout is such a great place to train!" 

_"Sounds lovely."_ Raijin commented sarcastically from the corner, _"There's nothing better thahn ah good cahse of pahrahlysis."_

Ignoring him and his attitude, I shrugged, "I doubt it's to do with some Bellsprout, but let's get this show on the road." 

Although Alan protested angrily to my disbelief over the existence of a Bellsprout whose head he was obsessed with, we got started with a quick fight between Smeargle and Polienix to "wake up the sprout". Although it wasn't meant to be a full blown battle, I couldn't help but feel that Alan was doing his best to order a knock-out move without my noticing, probably to get back at me for defeating him earlier. Hah, like that was going to happen! 

"Polienix, quick attack!" I ordered, grinning at Alan as he nearly crushed Smeargle's Pokéball in his hands. 

"Counter!" he rapped out, talking the time to grin back and flick the Pokéball up and down thrice as he revealed his Pokémon's third attack. 

I frowned, counter? It sounded fairly strong, but I wasn't sure… 

"PooollEE!" cried Polienix, surprising me completely with her sudden lack of English. 

The arctic bird folded in her right wing to her side at the last second, ploughing shoulder-first into Smeargle. The normal type took the hit with a stagger, but dropped its tail to latch onto its attacker with both hands as she sailed past. Polienix let out a squawk as Smeargle used her own momentum to smash her head first into the ground, taking fairly heavy damage. 

She scrabbled at the boarded floor with wings and talons to pull herself out of range, only a bit too late. 

"Megapunch!" 

"Pol, watch out!" I yelled as Smeargle balled its fist and hurled it into her side. 

Cheeping in pain she struggled into the air, but now I could see just how heavy a toll the battle was taking on her. In fact… I blinked wearily, that made two of us. All my muscles were so tired… 

"Pol, trust me on this one!" I struggled out as I massaged my temples, "Fly up high and just dive bomb it!" 

She looked at me, looking a little confused at my command as it wasn't any move she knew. But suddenly it clicked and she flapped higher. 

_"Hey Smeargle!"_ she called confidently, sounding scarily like yours truly in an unofficial fight, _"Eat beak!"_

With that she dropped like a stone, aiming right for her enemy's chest. Smeargle simply stared at her dumbly. 

"A-hah!" I crowed, "Your Pokémon's too dumb to realise tha-" 

Alan just grinned smugly as his normal type leapt aside at the last second, barely managing to pull its tail out of the way in time to avoid Polienix as she flared her wings to break and soared again. 

"Ray!" a familiar voice from the stairs called out, "Polienix takes too long to dive so Smeargle can see where she's coming from!" 

I glanced back to see Jay standing in the doorway, eyes fixated on the fight. 

"You need to do something to blind your opponent or speed up the attack." He explained, apparently out of breath from climbing up to this level. 

"Blind it?" I murmured, "But…" 

"Smeargle, let's have some KFC!" Alan cried just as the ideal move struck me. 

While Smeargle rapidly painted signs in the air with its long, ropey tail I called out to Pol, "You have to try it again! Only first this time… create lots of snow with your powder snow attack and then use gust to fill the air with it! Trust me," I added, now finding it hard to breathe as well as move, "It'll work!" 

Although she too looked like she was suffering from whatever was getting me down, Polienix nodded and suddenly the temperature in the room dropped considerably. To start with, the only sign of an oncoming powder snow technique was a build up of frost on the window frames, but then the light material began to form in the air… air that was already hazy?! Suddenly it hit me: the strange… that stuff! That Alan was talking about! Was it really meant to be quite this thick though? 

Even when Polienix whipped up a quick gust, dowsing Smeargle's flamethrower before it properly formed and sending the air and everything in it swirling about, the powder got thicker and thicker 'til it was practically smog. The snow didn't help, no, not at all… I couldn't see anything anymore and I felt more sleepy than "parararalysed". Drowsily I heard Jay break out into a coughing fit from behind me and a thud from Smeargle's direction, but then everything wen- 

****

When I woke up again, I was lying face down on what appeared to be a smooth, slightly curved floor of wood. I ached all over but what hit me the most was a wave of nausea that ebbed and flowed across my confused mind, making it seem almost as though I were being rocked back and forth. Groggily, I shook my head and carefully levered myself up, wincing at the hurt from bruises forming on my bruises. Lovely. 

Now leaning on my extended arms, I looked around through amber eyes. Although it seemed as though I was in a long, endless wooden tube without anything even vaguely resembling a window, an eerie green light lit up the tunnel as though we were in some sort of cellophane container. Very careful I shifted into a crouching position, only to have my leg brush against something scaly and cold. 

"Yah!" I yelped before I could stop myself as the scaly thing shifted against the contact. 

_" 'Yah' yourself."_ Raijin's voice responded thickly as the little dragon squirmed away from me and up onto unsteady claws. 

The testy Mydral rolled his head on his neck and stretched forward like a cat, his golden eyes never leaving mine. Although it sounded fairly stupid to me, him being far from incapable of sending a fatal jolt of electricity through my system, I had this sudden feeling that he was actually somewhat scared of me, in whatever way. To this day I have no idea why, but such a concept only added to my cautious approach to the creature. 

I swallowed that emotion away, wondering if "they can sense your fear" applied to Raijin but not about to wait and find out. Instead I got up, stretched and looked about. 

"I wonder where the others are." I wondered out loud, glancing down only to find that my Pokémon was striding off the other way. 

"Hey, wait!" 

Raijin sniffed in what I first assumed was contempt as I jogged after him. 

_"Tell me,"_ he ordered calmly, stopping for a second to sniff again before moving off in the same direction as before, _"Is thaht disgusting thing in the middle of your fahce ah growth or ah nose?"_

I scowled before moving into a jog to keep up. 

"What do you think?!" I demanded, "That it's here for aesthetic purposes?" 

Raijin barked out his amusement, coughing and spluttering on his laughter. 

_"Most… certahnly not!"_ he chortled, forced to stop to catch his breath and either ignoring my angry appearance or simply not noticing. 

Finally returning to a more sombre mind, he continued, _"I never thought it could do anything much, let ahlone meahsure the scent of the ahr." _he extended a paw, pointing at a sloping curve in the wall beyond which I couldn't see, _"Your slahve dog is there, ahlong with that braht and his motionless bug. You should know thaht, humahn girl."_

I rolled my eyes, already expecting the nasty comment about Hades from Mydral, but none came. Surprised, I looked down to see him frowning deeply. 

"What?" I inquired coaxingly, an involuntary shiver coursing up my spine as I realised that Raijin actually looked worried. 

_"Why should it mahtter to you, humahn?"_ he demanded, whirling around and covering up whatever expression he had held before with a sneer, _"We should go the-"_

Afraid of what I was going to see, I glanced over my shoulder to see what had cut Raijin off. But my fear quickly turned to bewilderment when I found that all that was there was a strange coloured plant Pokémon I instantly recognised: Bellsprout. Standing at about the same level as my knee, its root-like body swayed as if blown on by an invisible wind as it slid forwards. 

Yes, I did just say slid. And not by accident, either. 

Because that was what it was doing! It was impossible to discern between floor and Bellsprout leg as it advanced, almost as if it were… attached. Creepy in itself, but what didn't help was the crinkled brown colour of the leaves that made up this Bellsprout's arms and the rotting look given off by its withered tulip head. Of course, that missed out the creepiest part of this particular Pokémon - the long, hollow-looking fangs that dipped from top and bottom of its mouth. 

It wasn't threatening on the scale of Entei or Mechyena, but I could tell that this fermenting little plant meant business. 

"Uhh, Raijin?" I said tentatively, reaching out slightly with my hands for the comfort of his bulk while my eyes remained on the Bellsprout. 

_"It's not normahl."_ he conceded, _"But it shahll leahrn the overwhelming might of Rahijin!"_

With that he leapt forward to face the other Pokémon, baring his sharp teeth menacingly as his tail sliced through the air behind him, nearly clipping my leg. Bellsprout didn't seem fazed in the least; instead it let out a low, guttural sound and continued forwards unfazed. To say the least, Raijin disliked that reaction. He snarled and lightning bolts sprung up across his body. Without saying a word, I stepped out of strike range, not wanting a repeat of last time I came into close contact with that particular energy. 

With a draconian battle cry, my Pokémon leapt forward, releasing an electrifying Thundershock as he barrelled towards Bellsprout. The attack hit home, leaving it blackened and unsteady, but as Raijin landed and aimed for a quick headbutt with the last of his momentum the little creature bit out and attached itself to his horn-shaped ear. Letting out a deafening howl as Bellsprout sucked his energy from the puncture wound Raijin struck out hard with his claws, tearing the attacker from his ear and practically into ribbons before flicking it like a rag doll into the wall. It collapsed to the floor, crumpled and beaten, and Raijin smirked, turning back to me. 

_"I told you th-"_

He was cut off by a splooting sound as two more Dracula Bellsprout formed from the ground. Both went for the electric type but he was ready for them this time, stunning one and pushing it back with electricity while smacking the other into the ground with a heavy tackle. 

_"Idiots! Fools!" _he cried hysterically as six more returned alongside the wounded pair, _"No-one cahn beaht me,** no-one!"**_

I stumbled back as he went all out; pummelling grass Pokémon like there was no tomorrow. But no matter how many he took down, more and more would return, their pale eyes glinting in the light of Raijin's frenzied bolts. I was so immersed in watching the little dragon fight that I didn't even notice that I had problems of my own… until one sank its little fangs into my calf muscle! 

"OW!" I screamed instantly, shaking my leg reflexively and pulling the Bellsprout from its connection with the floor. 

The blood-sucking creature held fast, my actions doing more damage to myself than anything else. Grabbing the first Pokéball on my belt, the large, carved surface of Polienix's Regenball suddenly under my fingertips, I threw it at the Bellsprout, the sheer force of the impact knocking it off. 

I quickly snatched up the Regenball and stomped on the Bellsprout-creature for extra measure even as it sunk into the welcoming ground. I wasn't stupid though; I knew perfectly well what was coming next. Of course, I had no way of predicting where from and when a ninja-duo of Bellsprout dropped from the roof onto my back they caught me completely unprepared. My arms flailing wildly, I managed to direct my movements enough to smash my back into the smooth wall repeatedly until they dropped off, dazed. 

Still, despite those minor victories I lacked the amazing reaction time that blessed Raijin and took bite after bite, puncture after puncture. After an attack of seven at once I leapt back, only to trip over yet another foe and fall flat on my back. 

I had just enough time to see Raijin finally get the lesson through the skulls of his enemies and force them to retreat before my own were on me, sinking in teeth and wrapping roots around limbs. I cried out, unable to get up, as thin trickles of blood started to flow from the wounds, eagerly absorbed by the ground that I was now almost certain was alive. 

I was on the edge of wondering insanely how pathetic it would be to be killed by a group of whacked-out plants when a bolt of electricity seared three Bellsprout from my leg. 

_"NO!"_ Raijin cried, following the first Thundershock with a larger second that hit us all, _"It's my revenge, MINE!" _

I couldn't even consider the implications of what he had just said as the lightning coursed through my body like liquid fire, burning and hurting as my nerve endings screamed for it to stop. But it didn't and soon all but the most determined Bellsprout were gone, blown away by the sheer intensity of the electricity. Mydral wasn't letting up the attack either, even though he could have taken out the rest physically. Instead he kept it up, face moulded into a look of pure agony and rage. 

"DOUR!" 

The furious bark rang in my ears as a spurt of flame blasted through the air overhead, slamming home into Raijin's unprotected face and sending him falling back in pain. The attack broke and suddenly I could breathe again, a flash of black, silver and orange leaping past to whack into the fallen Mydral. 

I strained to lift my head to see what was happening as a series of snarls and growls followed, but it was no good. Although I could feel the paralysing effect of the attack slowly fading from my lower legs and feet, replaced by a steady, painful throb, movement of my neck was out of the question for now. Instead my eyes strained to see through the corner of my eyes. It took nearly a minute but, after much straining, I managed to focus. 

And just in time, too. Hades had Raijin pinned to the ground with one heavy paw and had his teeth bared, ready to deal the final blow. 

"Hade…" I called pathetically, the pain I'd glimpsed as Mydral had shocked me engraved in my mind, "…Don't!" 

He looked up, a pleading look in his eyes, but I just about managed to hand-signal for him to stand down. Growling at Raijin he backed off, never bearing his back as he moved away. The dragon picked himself up in the most prideful manner he could muster and glared at Hades, re-adjusting the lay of his wings against his scaled back. 

_"Come now,"_ he said silkily, his gaze moving back to me as I struggled to move my legs and then torso. 

_"It's not like I wahs ahiming to kill her."_

What scared me most was that just couldn't bring myself to believe him. Not at all. 

After I finally regained the strength to walk we moved on, Hades and Raijin staying purposefully on either side of the path as I restrained myself from glancing over my shoulder every few seconds. It was hard work: once when I failed I caught a glimpse of crinkled leaf just disappearing back far enough to be shielded by the curve and I could feel their eyes boring holes into the back of my neck. And that was excluding the threat Raijin provided. 

We reached the end of the curve and back onto the straight just as I stopped dead. Straight ahead, Alan was sprawled out on the ground, still unconscious, with his hat lying a few feet away. To the left lay Metapod, struggling and failing to move, and to the right… Bellsprout. Their fangs glinting as they moved in for the kill. 

"Hades, ember!" I cried, pointing at the deadly plants that were only inches from their goal. 

The creatures froze at the sound, their heads jerking up and pearly eyes flickering as they focused on me. Wrong place, fools! While they were eying me up for life content, they missed Hades throwing wide his mouth and letting out a spurt of flame. It struck the Bellsprout and they went up like dry grass, flailing about before collapsing into the floor again. 

"Careful," I warned my Pokémon, "They regenerate." 

No sooner had the words left my lips, I was proven correct when six more demons splurted up from the wooden ground behind the fire puppy, each loosing a mouthful of seeds onto his back. Hades howled as the little seeds split and grew into tiny plants, each burying their roots into him in an attack I recognised from Jay's battle against Magenix: leech seed. 

"Bite those Bellsprout!" I cried, hopping back before the closest one could sink its teeth into my leg. 

Hades was too busy thrashing to listen, however, his thick nails and sharp teeth gouging deep gashes into the floor and his own flanks as he struggled to remove the life-sucking plants. 

I growled, "Alright freaks!" and grabbed one just beneath the head, tugging it from the ground and flinging it against the wall. If Raijin was only fighting to save his own skin and Hades too busy wailing to help, I wasn't going to just sit about and let us lose! 

With the addition of a 5' 8" girl to the fray, things got completely out of control in record time. I had to aim my attacks low in order to hit the tiny little things, stooping and bending oddly as I did my best to fight without falling. And soon Mydral found himself battling it out once again against the life-suckers, fast on his feet as he resorted to a hit-and-retreat strategy to avoid coming close to Hades or I. 

"Hai-eep!" I squalled, trying to come in fast to a Bellsprout that was attacking Raijin from the side, only to trip over Hades as he backed out of another's reach. 

Landing hard on my knees and swallowing a further yelp, I crawled out of the way before any fangs could get any closer and decided that I'd do better taking up the typical trainer's position: those things were just too small for me to really fight. 

I'd just drawn in breath to warn Hades of a small group of Bellsprout behind him when a ringing bark reached my ears. In a flash, a malevolent mass of shaggy charcoal fur leapt into the scrimmage, making short work of seven foes as he took another up in his jaws and shook it like a rag doll. If these had been proper Pokémon, creatures that screamed when hurt and lay down in submit when beaten I was sure my conscious would be roaring at me now that Cerberus was adding his brute strength to the cause. And I tell you, seeing that Mightyena fight was sending a chill up my spine even though he as on my side - a side-effect of his intimidate ability. 

"Come on, kid, get up." I heard Jay himself order over the sounds of battle. 

I looked up to see my tawny haired companion bent over Alan, shaking the boy by the shoulder as he stirred just slightly. Jay's face was set into a worried frown, glancing over his shoulder nervously. He switched back distractedly just in time to see Alan convulse, scrubbing at his eyes and giving a tiny dry cough. 

"W-what's going on?" the trainer burbled, pulled to his feet by Jay's grasp on his upper arm, "Metapod…" he croaked, reaching out for the Pokémon. 

He was obviously still confused, that dozy state of half-consciousness still limiting his thoughts into a hazy blur. While Hades performed another quick ember, barely missing Raijin who snarled angrily and smacked a Bellsprout enemy in the dog's direction, Alan picked up his fairly immobile Pokémon, blinking repeatedly. He looked ready to just stand there for a while to catch up with what was going on but Jay pushed him on, calling for Magenix, Polienix and Fidranger who appeared, sweating, from further along down the tunnel. Polienix in particular looked terrified and tired, my heart shooting out to her. 

"Pol!" I called out to her, grinning stupidly as her head whipped around to look at me. 

She looked so happy to see me… but her expression changed completely to that of fear as her black eyes strayed to the furious fight between dog, dragon and vampire plant that was going on between us. I wanted to go out and comfort her, but Jay seemed determined on moving. 

"Come on already!" he cried as he bustled towards the battle combatants and I, "Raven, we have to get going **now!**" 

"But-" I started, gesturing to the battle with a look of confusion. 

"It doesn't matter!" my friend practically screamed, glancing back over his shoulder again in a look of pure fear, "We move or we die, you hear me?!" 

Oh yes, I heard that. But I still didn't know what got that look into Jay's eyes, didn't know what we were actually meant to be fleeing. 

As I contemplated this all, Jay simply charged straight through the middle of the fight, pulling Alan behind him and signalling to Cerb. The big dog responded immediately, bounding after Jay before whirling around and baring his yellowed teeth threateningly. With a snap of thick, woody vines Fidranger flattened a few Bellsprout to the walls, pinning them just below the chins to avoid being bitten as she barked encouragingly to the other Pokémon and I. 

_"Get a move on!"_ she yapped, the berry-translated voice I'd never heard before reminding me distinctively of that of a woman in her mid-thirties I used to know. 

Hades, Magenix and Polienix were quick to comply, racing off after Jay who had broken into a run, but Raijin waited a second longer, his golden eyes sparkling as he tilted his delicate muzzle to the side. His expression soured quickly. 

_"I see."_ he muttered, prior to chasing after the rest of them. 

Fidranger growled at me and I too turned, running after our motley group of bird, beast and human. Behind me, Fidranger gave the Bellsprout a complimentary slam into the wall before dropping them to the ground and following us, Cerberus trotting after her as soon as she passed him. 

Knowing that they were behind me I sped up to gain on Jay, grimacing as I saw how Hades was struggling. With his short, heavily built body the puppy really wasn't built for long distance _or_ speed. He panted and struggled, loosing more and more ground until I scooped him up into my arms with a grunt. 

"You've gotta cut down on the pork chops, boy." I informed him as I shifted his weight in my arms, knowing full well that running like for any real length of time this would be difficult/impossible. 

"What're we running from?" I heard Alan ask Jay, his voice marred by gasps for air. 

Jay too was sweating but his voice was a little better. Bigger lungs, I suppose. 

"I doesn't matter." He replied, his face grim, "We just don't want to slow down." 

As I puzzled over this mystery, my arms beginning to ache with each pounding step, we reached a section of the tunnel that weaved in and out, making it impossible to run in a straight line for longer than a few steps. The constant turning, shifting my weight from one side to the other to manage to curves at speed, soon became torturous, lactic acid screaming through my veins. 

Gritting my teeth, I held Hades in one arm while reaching for his Pokéball with the other. It was a tricky process, slowing me down to the back of the group, but finally I had the ball in my hand and managed to aim it at the heavy Houndour. 

"Return!" I panted triumphantly, watching as the red beam… wrapped itself around the ball before disappearing completely? 

"Crap!" I cried, stuffing the ball angrily into my pocket and barely avoiding a nasty slam into the wall as I cursed this place and it abnormalities, "Hades, you're going to have to run under your own steam." 

He didn't look too happy as I dropped him, his nails scrabbling on the wood to catch up the time he had lost, but I shot him an encouraging look and he gave me a doggy smile in return. We ran on together, only a few feet behind the others, until we got out of the windy area and back onto a lovely straight. I squinted, trying to see past our companions, as something purple and wet-looking caught my eye. It seemed to be some sort of opening, but I couldn't see anything more than that. 

Suddenly I blinked, glancing over my shoulder. Was that some sort of rumbling I heard? It reminded me vaguely of when the huge Malmarsh sewers were pumped to get out the Grimer, huge amounts of water used to flush the poisonous beasts out. But this didn't sound the same, not really. It didn't have the same rushing undertones that water carried… 

"Jay…" I started as we came to a stop in front of the opening, which appeared to have just… closed. 

"What the hell is following us?" 

He wet his lips nervously, glancing to the purple, oozing end to the tunnel that was currently sealed shut. 

"You'll see." He replied, biting the inside of his lip before pulling out his Pokédex along with some sort of green card. 

Inserting the card into the metallic red 'Dex, Jay hit a few buttons and read quickly and silently from the glowing screen before snapping it shut. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to us. 

"I think… No, I _know_ where we are." He informed us, "Inside the Bellsprout that makes up Sprout tower's main pillar. Your battle with Alan got us… eaten." 

Everyone aside from Jay, even Raijin, blinked like he was mad. _Eaten?_ What was this boy on? You can't be _eaten_ by a tower pillar! 

"Give me a break!" I choked, stunned by the sheer _magnitude_ of his statement, "We can't be eaten, I mean… that's just impossible! If that were true, we'd be in the process of being digested by now!" 

Jay's expression didn't change, his dark brows straight and sea green eyes suddenly icy serious. 

"If you want proof, Raven," he said slowly, one hand going to his pocket even as the insistent roaring increased in volume down the tunnel, "I'll give it to you." 

He withdrew his Pokédex from his pocket, the metallic red appearing a muddy brown colour in the emerald light, and aimed it at the wall. The blue light over the sensor lit up instantly and computerised words I most certainly didn't want to hear rushed into my head. 

**"Bellsprout, the flower Pokémon. Bellsprout's thin and flexible body lets it bend and sway to avoid any attack, however strong it may be. From its mouth, this Pokémon spits a corrosive fluid that melts even iron."**

The tawny haired boy didn't even loosen his gaze's hold on my horrified face as he pressed a different button on his Pokédex and its pre-programmed voice started up again. 

**"Bellsprout's main hunting technique is to coax prey into its pitcher-shaped head using an alluring perfume. It then seals its mouth, using either poison powder, stun spore or sleep powder to terminate any further resistance. Should this Pokémon be unable to capture food through this technique, it initiates a combination of two of the three moves normally used within the mouth to stun prey before taking them into the body where further processes shrink the prey to the correct size for ingestion."**

It went on, delving deep into the subject of Bellsprout's digestive processes and further proving Jay's point as everything fit in. Although I hate to admit it, I was feeling distinctly faint. What could I do to fight an opponent that was bigger than me already and had now shrunk me to fit my body and those of my companions into its innards? This was, to put it into simple and bratty terms, so not fair! 

As his Pokédex finished its in-depth explanation, Jay snapped it shut and shoved it back into his pocket. He gave me a weak smile, although I can't say it was encouraging. 

"Not on the job description, eh?" he joked pathetically, his voice strained. 

When I didn't respond he shook his head, "Mine neither." 

"I spent all my time looking for this thing!" Alan suddenly wailed, clutching his cracking Metapod even closer to his skinny body as he tipped back his head to complain louder, "But now I just want it to go away! Now!" 

_"Quit your useless humahn yahpping, weahkling!" _Raijin ordered, the boy's shrill tone making him flick back his long, horn-like ears in disgust, _"We hahve worse things to worry ahbout now, like thaht!" _

He stabbed one golden claw back in the direction we'd just come from and Fidranger and Hades let out simultaneous howls of fear. 

Bearing down on us at full speed came a squirming wall of crinkled brown and rotting green, pale pearly eyes piercing the writhing mass of Bellsprout absorption drone. Although Jay's Pokédex had just told us that they were nothing but mindless minions of the main creature, I would have sworn that those hideous little eyes carried vengeful malice, almost like something from a horror film. They'd be on us in seconds. 

"What the hell do we do!" I despaired, already bracing myself for the brute force of those numbers crushing me into the sludge behind us, "There's no way we can fight that many!" 

Raijin, determined to the end, did his best to prove me wrong, letting out a rain of sparks, but he was still far too tired to do much damage anyway and the minuscule indent he created filled itself up in a jiff. I really and truthfully thought we were going to die… 

_"Back!"_ Polienix cried, leaping from the ground and sending a wave of blue light crashing into the advancing mass of plant. 

_"Go… away!"_

She struggled against the enemy, psychic power slowly bending away from their weight as sweat broke out across her brow. For such a little Pokémon, she was doing such a great job… but they were still going to get through. 

_"The exit! It's opening!" _Raijin cried and my head whipped around to see the gloopy hole slowly start to grow in size. 

It didn't take a genius, however, to realise that it wasn't moving fast enough. Exchanging glances, Jay and I nodded and each grasped a side of the opening, pulling for our lives. Quite literally. We tugged and pulled at the entrance as the Pokémon looked on helplessly, none of them owners of thumbs. I heard Alan sobbing quietly on the floor behind me, heard Polienix's grunts as she struggled to maintain supremacy, and pulled. 

"One, two, three!" Jay hollered and we hauled with all our strength… only to have our hands slip on the moist surface and fall backwards onto the ground. 

The psychic barrier bent further. 

"It's no use!" Jay exclaimed, "We have to wait for it to open at its own speed." 

"We don't have time!" I responded hopelessly, "Polienix can't hold them off much longer!" 

As if in response, the little bird let out a tiny wail, the protective barrier buckling under the bulk weight of all those Bellsprout. A feeling of dread swarmed through the group - how were we ever… 

"Metapod!" Alan suddenly cried out in horror, dropping his Pokémon to the ground. 

My head twirled around just in time to see the hairline cracks widen and spread across the shining green carapace, opening wider and wider to reveal something black and white beneath. As Polienix struggled harder against our enemies, bright white light suddenly streamed through the cracks in Metapod's armour, scything through the air and causing a few Bellsprout to wince back. In a final throb, the searing light burst through the green, shattering Metapod apart like the shell of an egg. Slowly the light faded away, revealing a fluttering butterfly-Pokémon with a deep purple body and long, hanging aquamarine legs beneath. Huge ruby red eyes lit up furiously and, with a powerful beat of its brand-new black-veined wings, the creature propelled itself forward to hover beside Pol. 

"F-Freee!" it cried defiantly, those massive eyes glowing even brighter. 

With another flap of its wings, the Pokémon added the strength of its mind to that of Polienix, thrusting the living wall back nearly five metres. 

"M-m-metapod…" Alan stammered, pulling out his Pokédex and holding it in a wavering hand.

"Butterfree, the butterfly Pokémon." it explained, **"Butterfree has a superior ability to search for delicious honey from flowers. It can even search out, extract and carry honey from flowers that are blooming over six miles from its nest."**

"Butter-FREE!" the psychic bug creature trumpeted in response, its long, curved antennae flicking impatiently. 

_"Butterfree says… to get a move on!"_ Polienix translated breathlessly. 

I glanced back, "Yeah! The gate's open!" 

My words acted an awful lot like the first sight of the finish line after a long distance race; everyone instantly leaping forwards to be first out. Even Jay, who I thought to be fairly level-headed, joined in the jam as Alan, Raijin, Fidranger, Magenix, Hades, Cerberus and I attempted to force our way through the poor, straining gap. For a second we all struggled, quite possibly stuck, but suddenly something that felt like a huge hand rammed into our behinds, sending the whole group flying through with a resounding pop. Polienix and Butterfree were quick to follow, the two part-psychic types diving through the hole just as it started to close again. Spinning around, Alan's new bug forced the entrance closed behind us before collapsing onto Alan's head. It really did look tired. 

"Well." Jay's voice murmured after ten second's just-made-it silence, "This is fairly disgusting." 

I looked over to find him picking himself up off the uneven floor, huge globs of green guck plastering his loose jeans to his legs. With a revolted look on his face, the tawny-haired boy reached up one hand and wiped a globule of the alien substance from his forehead. 

"This must be something akin to stomach acid." He informed us, "Although Bellsprout anatomy is entirely different from our own, I'm certain that this is the second stage for breaking down food… like some sort of mixed up intestine…" 

In unison, Alan, the Pokémon and myself cast bulging eyes to the muck we were each prostrated in and leapt to our feet with combined cries of "ewww!" and "sick!" Jay watched us with the non-involved expression of an analysing scientist as we clawed at afflicted clothing and skin before adding the remaining 25p to the dish. 

"It should take a long amount of time before it affects anyone, mind." He gave me a pointed expression as I growled before continuing, "In theory, we'll have escaped before this stuff so much as starts dissolving any skin." 

_"In theory?!"_ Fidranger howled, up to her chest in slime, _"You don't **really** think that theory alone is going to change my outlook on this situation, do you?!"_

"Well-" Jay started, only to be cut off by a 'shhh' from Alan's direction. 

"Listen…" the boy murmured, "Is that someone crying?" 

I cocked my head to the side and, indeed, the wet sniffling sound of a distressed entity warbled over to me. 

_"What d'you think it is?"_ Pol wondered in the curious yet cautious tone I was growing so used to. 

I shrugged, no idea, but moved forwards with my ears straining. Beneath my feet the green sludge trembled but didn't give way and I pressed on down the much wider tunnel, huge protrusions of gunk hanging down from the high ceiling like malleable stalactites. 

_"Ray, watch it."_ Magenix warned, although without much conviction. 

Like the previous section, this passage with lit by some unknown source of light. Only this time it wasn't half as bright and shadows reigned about six metres in front of me, leaving the trail to go on indefinitely in smothering darkness. I squinted into it as the _slop slop_ of my friends' feet, paws and claws into the sludge started up behind me, hoping to extend my vision at least a bit. To no avail, unfortunately, but I soon came to a bulbous lump in the sludge that was shuddering at regular intervals. Extending an experimental finger, I lightly prodded the bulge and was rewarded with a sharp squeak. 

_"D-don't eat me!"_ the familiar voice begged, two crimson mandibles surfacing through the sludge. 

"Don't worry; I'm not a big fan of spider soup, myself." I assured her as Arina's spherical head followed the lead of her mouthparts. 

"Oh no…" she whimpered weakly, "Humans." 

She tried pathetically to move away from me as I dug my arms through the sludge beneath her and scooped her up, but her strength was almost gone. Cooing to her as the Spinarak struggled and moaned, I stood up and faced the others. 

"Let's get moving," I suggested, "If this stuff had this sort of effect on her already, I really don't think we should wait about." 

Jay was the only one not to nod in agreement, shaking his head and muttering about how the acid wouldn't do anything much for some time again. That didn't mean that he didn't follow us though, our motley band slogging our way through the sludge towards whatever exit there might be. It was hard work, especially when we stepped over some sort of sudden drop and found ourselves with goop up to mid-thigh on Jay and I. It was up to waist level on poor Alan; Fidranger and Hades had disappeared entirely aside for two straining muzzles and had to attach themselves to Cerberus's side to keep moving. 

Raijin was the worst though. His enormous wingspan just wouldn't allow him to get into the air and there was no way he was latching onto Cerb like Hades and Fidranger had done. Instead he struggled, hissing at Jay when the boy moved to help him out, and muttered angrily about "no bloody updrahft" and "pahthetic slahve dog". He howled angrily when Polienix and Butterfree finally yanked him into the air with their psychic strength, only Magenix's promise of barbequed dragon steak stopping the furious Mydral from blasting bug and bird with as many volts as he could muster. 

"This… bites…" I panted as the light started to fade as well, shifting Alan on my shoulders and glancing over at Jay who had taken charge of Arina. 

_"You're not the one being dragged through this muck by your battle partner!"_ Fidranger snapped shrilly, her paws buried in Cerberus's thick coat. 

"Maybe so," I argued, "but I **am** carrying someone only fifteen damn centimetres shorter than me!" 

The grass Pokémon just sighed in exasperation and put her head down on Cerb's ragged back. I shot her a nasty smirk, but it dropped as soon as I took another step, forcing my protesting muscles to carry me further. 

In the fading light I couldn't even see where I was going properly, instead focusing my attention on taking step after step with the weight of one small boy pressing me down. Every time I lifted up a foot the goo clung on and tried to pull it back. It was like having weights tied to my heels and it really, really didn't help. Fatigue was setting in faster than I was comfortable with; I was just about to give in and beg for a rest when my ears picked up the faintest of sounds - a rushing and roaring noise I hadn't expected in the least. Was that… 

_I sat on the bank, my chin resting on my knees as I watched the crystalline stream gush by over rocks and sand. I was wearing a little kid's swimming costume, with wide shoulder straps and multicoloured fish all over the fabric. Tugging uncomfortably at the costume, I stared as a whole shoal of orange and white Goldeen swam past with their tails trailing behind them like silken dresses. _

With the comforting sound of my parents voices as they chatted about who-knows-what behind me, I gathered up my courage and stumbled up, the grass scratching at the soles of my feet. The more I thought about it, the less threatening the water looked. I knew I was meant to swim in the lake but it just looked so big, whereas this tiny little stretch of water looked much more inviting. 

After a short battle of nerves I held my nose shut in one slightly chubby hand, bent my knees and jumped. 

"Raven!" I heard my father's voice cry just before I hit the water but if it was stopping me he was aiming for he'd waited far too long. 

The water erupted around me in sheets of liquid, only to crash back down on my head as I plummeted under. The river was freezing against my skin, forcing my mouth open in a sharp yelp of surprise that trailed bubbles up to the surface. Luckily for me it wasn't very deep - just deep enough to put a foot of water between a five year old and the air - and I managed to propel myself up to the surface off the bottom… although not in a straight line. 

As my face broke the surface, gasping for air, I felt the current tug at me full-force. It jerked me back under and carried me away from my parents running towards me, so much stronger than I could ever be. The water gurgling and screaming in my ears, I was plunged deeper and thrown back up again by the river's sheer force, what had looked like a playful little stream now seeming as playful as a hungry Persian, battering its prey to death. 

I was terrified; trying to breath only left me gulping for air and pushing off anything I could only seemed to throw me in the wrong direction. Above the stream's roar I heard a colossal splash and my mother screaming something incomprehensible. 

'What've I done?' _I wondered weakly, trying to grab a passing tree root but succeeding only in shredding the back of my swimming costume against the rough bark before being dragged off again. _

I felt darkness setting in, swirling around me… But suddenly a pair of strong arms latched around my waist and I felt myself caught in my father's strength. 

"…water?" I murmured weakly, the more recent memory of the bog in the woods mixing in with the older memory and turning the safety of my dad's arms into the insistent pull of sloppy mud. 

Jay grinned for the first time in nearly an hour. 

"Our ticket out of here." He informed the rest of us cheerily, pressing on ahead of me as I stopped dead. 

I swallowed, "How so?" 

All I heard was an annoyingly optimistic "you'll see" as Jay broke through the last of the gunge and staggered onto dry 'land'. 

Hoping that this meant following a stream or something rather than actually getting in it, I followed him uncertainly and dropped Alan unceremoniously onto the same woody ground as I'd woken up on with Raijin earlier. I was barely aware of the Pokémon arriving beside me; too busy staring at this phenomenon flowing right in front of my eyes. Two streams. Two _cylindrical_ streams defying gravity to curve out of the ground as well as into it. They were flowing side by side… and in opposite directions! 

"Wh-what?" I stammered in confusion as Jay knelt beside the nearest one and dipped in one finger experimentally. 

The liquid he removed was clear like water only a bit thicker, reminding me of spit after eating some sort of sugary thing. Lifting it higher for Alan and I to inspect, he gestured with the other hand to the darkness that swallowed the tubes of liquid on either end. 

"This is our way out," said Jay proudly, "If I'm correct, this nearer stream will take us all the way back up to the Bellsprout's head, from which we can escape through the mouth and back into the tower." 

"You meant we get to _ride_ that thing?!" gasped Alan, his jaw hanging open. 

Jay nodded, "Of course." 

Apparently not noticing my look of absolute horror, he shifted the now-sleeping arachnid in his arms and scooped up a glob of guck from his trouser leg. Holding it over the tube, he let it go and it feel straight through the invisible tube holding the water in place. As soon as it made contact with the water it was gone, rushed away by the super speed of the liquid. 

I felt faint. 

"No." I heard myself say, feeling completely numb. 

_"Whaht do you meahn, 'no'?"_ Raijin cried, _"If this is the only wahy out, you hahve to go through it!"_

As if to prove his point the leapt over Jay's shoulder, wings wrapped tightly around his body, and crashed into the fluid. Before I could blink, my arrogant little dragon was gone, leaving nothing to indicate his departure aside from a few splashes on the floor. 

"No no NO!" I protested as Jay gave me a pleading look and Butterfree took the dive. 

"It's perfectly safe," Magenix dive-bombed through, "The water moves so fast that just taking one deep breath," Cerb folded himself uncomfortably in, "before leaving will take you all the way to the top without drowning." Hades gave me a curious look and was gone, "Not to mention all that gunk will be washed off while," Polienix disappeared, "you're rushed through." 

I shook my head even as Jay gave Arina to Fidranger, who swiftly departed with the spider in her jaws. 

"I won't." I refused stubbornly, even though I was trembling inside, "No way no how." 

He frowned, "Why not? You were quite happy to fight off some vampire Bellsprout back there, why's this going to be any harder?" 

"Just is." I responded stiffly, glaring at the stream as though this were all its fault. 

Jay sighed, then started. 

"The acid!" he cried, "It's eating through your shirt!" 

I looked down, only to see a glob of the stuff sitting there innocently. 

"What _are_ you oooooooooooon!" I started, only to have Alan sudden collide with my back. 

I tried to dig in my heels, resisting as much as I could when he caught me off-guard like that, but then Jay reached out and grabbed me by the arm. Together both boys heaved and, already off-balance, I toppled helplessly in. 

The current grabbed me instantly and I found myself whipped off through a tight tunnel in the wall, the sides scraping against my skin. I struggled in horror but to no avail - I couldn't see anything in the complete darkness and the liquid refused to stop… if that's what I really even wanted it to do. It wasn't cold like the river I'd jumped in as a child had been but the current felt just the same: strong, swift and impossible to resist. Not only that, but I hadn't had the time to refill my lungs before my two "friends" had thrown me in. The effects were already setting in, my vision was fizzing behind closed lids and my lungs were burning. 

_Air, air, AIR!_ My mind bleated again and again. I latched my hands onto my sides, arms crossed over my chest as I scrunched up my eyes and tried to make do with limited oxygen. But the urge to breathe in! It was so… 

SPLOOT! 

Before I could foolishly breathe in a lungful of liquid I shot out of the end of the tunnel like a bullet from a gun, my body as stiff as a board until I hit the ground and crumpled, the Pokémon shoving me out of the way before Jay and then Alan landed just where I had been. 

I lay on my side, shivering and gasping and trying to fight away the fear that was threatening to throw me into hyperventilation. Screwing my eyes shut I concentrated on keeping my breathing slow and tried to forget my claustrophobic water ride to get here. 

"See?" Jay piped up after a while, pulling me shivering to my shaky legs, "You're not dead, now are you?" 

I swallowed and forced down my shuddering before raising my eyes to his and glaring angrily. 

"No." I whispered furiously, "But you will be, just mark my words." 

Turning on my heel I marched away from him, whipping out a Pokéball and returning Arina before she could make a break for it. 

"Let's get out of here." I muttered to my Pokémon, drawing another sarcastic from Mydral, which I ignored. 

Slithering out of the Bellsprout's mouth wasn't so hard as I had previously thought it to be and I was soon standing in a featureless room beside a giant yellow head, sneering up at the beady black eyes that were staring as its prey escaped. 

Once all of us were out we fell through a trapdoor down onto the next level, landing in a group of white-robed monks with shaven heads and angry expressions. 

"This is a restricted area!" one of the elder men informed us, "You're not allowed to be here without first defeating one of us. 

"We were just leaving, sir." Alan told him quickly, "Sorry." 

But the monk-ring wasn't budging, pinning us down with their accusing stares. Nasty monks. What a laugh. Finally I clucked my tongue to Hades, whose ears perked up instantly. It looked like we were going to have to prove ourselves out of this mess, and I was volunteering to do so myself.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry if that trailed off a bit, I thought I needed to tie it up and the monk/Raven battle would have added a good page more to an already long chapter. And that blasted writer's block was looming too, so I thought I'd make the best of things before it got any worse. _Opal Tiger_ - Yes, actually, I'm a huge fan of Final Fantasy. IX is my favourite and I've just been replaying it... What words seemed FF-ish though, just out of interest? Sorry about not updating too fast, I guess I didn't quite make "soon" there. ;;

_Opal Tiger_ - Give up on you? Never! I **am** a huge fan of Final Fantasy, too. IX is my favourite. Which words did you think sounded FF-like though, out of curiousity?

_Pheonix-Rising_ - The name keeps changing 'cause it's a work in progress, I can't help that, but I think the current title should stay until the end of this saga at least. Sorry if it's getting on your nerves. Down with glitches! 

**_Obsidian_**


	11. Gym battle bravado

I'm on a roll! It's the only way to explain it! The next chaper is prooving to be somewhat annoying to write but I stil haven't hit another block! w00t! 

**Raven: Emerald Fist   
Mechyena Saga**

Chapter XI: _Gym battle bravado_

This level of the tower was different from the others in that the floor was made up of a platform shaped into something like a stage with a bridge connecting it the stairs. Where the lightwood boards weren't, dusty support beams glared up at us, separated from one another by a brown sort of plaster. Simple carvings of Bellsprout decorated the walls from floor to about a metre up and the windows and ceiling were entirely the same - aside from the trap door we'd just stumbled through, that is. 

"Just two rules, before we begin." Said the monk, his hand halting just short of the single Pokéball peeping through a fold in his robes, "First, no Pokédexes. This is a tower of spiritual values, not the information provided by the brain of a machine. Second," his eyes glittered strangely at us, as though he knew something we apparently thought he shouldn't, "we don't want the battle to be too heated… so physical attacks only."   
Knowing that a certain level of respect was due for a monk, I managed to stop my face from morphing into a nasty sneer, knowing full well the reasons for _that_ little rule.  
"The could have _written_ that somewhere," I heard Alan's voice mutter sourly behind me, sharing my thoughts on the situation by the sound of it.   
"Somewhere we could _see_ it, even." 

Walking to the opposite side of the main square of platform from my monk opponent, I nodded in agreement with his rules. Hades, although obviously tired from our encounter of the digestive kind, managed a wag of his stubby tail and situated himself in front of me, waiting to see what he was going to be up against. Bless him for his loyalty, from a quick glance at the rest of my team I'd be doomed if it weren't for trusty ol' Hades. Arina was still passed out at Fidranger's feet; Polienix was giving me an encouraging look from her perch on the fence surrounding the edge but was still looking ready to pop it at any time; and, finally and probably most surprisingly, Raijin had allowed himself to sag slightly against the wall, raising his long nose only to hiss at Cerberus when the dog came too close.   
"Hooooooo!"   
The cry of a tiny brown and tan owl jerked me back to the battle. Hopping bouncily from one pink toned foot to the other the bird Pokémon blinked lamp-like red eyes in Hades' direction and twitched two bunches of feathers that stood out from its forehead in the shape of the hands on a clock. It wasn't anything I'd ever seen before, not even from my mother's books, and I couldn't help but be a bit taken aback… Maybe this opponent was exclusive to Johto or something? 

I didn't have time to ponder though; my opponent was already ordering the first attack.   
"Defend yourself with reflect," he intoned calmly, as though he did this all the time. Maybe he did.   
As the owl Pokémon spun its stubby wings in quick circular directions, its red eyes lighting up as a glittering shield formed around it, I found myself protesting angrily.   
"I thought you said physical attacks only!" I spluttered, throwing my hands in the air, "That doesn't look physical to me!"   
"The keyword here is probably 'attacks', Raven." Jay pointed out coolly from behind me, adding irritably, "If you'd let me handle this I could have dealt with it."   
'_Stress makes people stressed.'_ I reminded myself though gritted teeth, _'Including me.'_   
Trying to ignore my companion's jagged tone, I focused instead on the battle, which was getting harder by the second.   
"Hades, bite through that reflect!" I ordered, glad to see him instantly respond.   
As Houndour leapt, the other Pokémon reacted. Pumping its tiny wings, it launched itself straight into the air and straight into a Double Team evasion tactic. Ten versions of the little brown bird flitted around the ceiling and the sage's head, who gazed on impassively as Hades landed heavily, his jaws a good foot short of grasping one of the many birds. 

"Don't worry," I assured the confused dog, "If we just bite them down, one at a time…" Still looking discouraged, Hades crouched low and waited for one of the clones (or maybe the real one, neither of us could tell the difference until he hit one) to fly close enough for him to catch it. For a while they took it in turns to dive close - but not close enough - to the demon puppy until the leader's attention span started to shift and one of the copies flew straight at Hades. The Houndour leapt as soon as it was in range, his sharp teeth puncturing through feather and skin alike so that the spherical bird… 

…shattered. A fake, of which many more still crowed the air.   
"Okay, okay, it's alright, just try anoth-"   
The sage cut me off: "Hoothoot, mass peck!"   
Suddenly every single bird barrel-rolled downwards, converging on Hades and surrounding him in a tangle of beating wings. Cries of "hoot hoot hooo" practically drowned out everything else, but if I listened hard enough I could just make out the frenzied snapping of jaws and little whimpers of pain as the real 'Hoothoot' struck its mark. 

"Hades!" I cried as he let out a much louder bark, "Use… use InfernoCrunch!"   
I knew it was against the rules, I honestly did, but one of the moves I'd been working with him on back on Route 31 (with limited affect, I'll add) was the first thing that popped into my head as the black puppy dog was thrown out of the swirling cloud of talons and beaks, thin red lines all over him.   
"That… That is against the rules!" the monk exclaimed as Houndour gained his paws, staggered up and dove straight at the nearest owl, flames drizzling from his jaws.   
It was the real one. I knew because of the sound it made as the mixed attack of bite and ember caught it in mid-air, right around the middle, and all the clone disappeared with a pop. It screeched in agony, both talons slashing through the air in an attempt to make Hades let go, before landing a hard slash of claws right in his face. He let go in an instant, blinded momentarily, and his feathered quarry hopped back, hovering just in front of the fencing…   
"Hade, NO!" I cried, seeing the muscles rippling under his pelt as the puppy prepared to leap.   
Too late - suddenly intent on revenge and still partially blinded by the scratch to his eyes, Houndour bounded forward. At the last second Hoothoot shot out of the way, Hades trying to bend in the air to snap at it. All he succeeded in doing was to bash his whole side on the thick wood of the fence and tumble to the floor. 

He twitched, once, twice…. And lay still. 

For a second I froze, not quite believing that I'd just lost, before lurching forwards and crouching next to my most loyal of companions.   
"Hades… hey, Hade…" I murmured, patting his head in concern.   
The battered hound stirred under my touch, but he wasn't getting up soon. Gathering him up into my arms dejectedly, I turned to the sage, who was congratulating his Hoothoot on a job well done. My momentary lapse out of the world of rules didn't seem to be bothering me right now, as he petted his victorious Pokémon and offered it a fat yellow berry which it chomped down straight away.   
"Well," he offered finally, as if only just realising that I was still there, dog in arms. "I suppose you cannot be entirely blamed for being an amateur. But you still lost and are not allowed to be on this floor."   
He gestured towards the door almost apologetically and I followed the pointed order, keeping my eyes trained on the ground as I passed my friends. 

My first loss! I'd only been on the road for a sliver of time and I already had a 50% loss rate. That sucked. Especially, I realised as I sulked my way to the Pokémon centre, mumbling out a goodbye to Alan as he dashed off to his aunt's house, since I happened to be a very bad loser.   
Jay and I made a beeline to the Pokémon centre, all our Pokémon but Hades himself - who I refused to let go of - returned to the safety of their Pokéballs. The tawny-haired boy looked like he wanted to say something along the lines of how he could have handled that battle better, but snapped his mouth shut as we sat in silence on a red sofa near the main desk of the 'centre.   
"Cheer up," he advised after a while of waiting, "You can't exactly expect to win them all, can you? To tell the truth," he continued with a badly disguised blush, "I lost my first few battles completely."   
I couldn't help but raise an amber eye at that.   
"Percentage?" I inquired, unable to stop myself.   
"Ah." He replied, the floor tiles suddenly interesting, "I'd hardly say that-"   
"Percentage." I repeated, trying to make it clear that I wasn't taking no for an answer.   
"Alittlelessthanfortyfivepercent." He finally muttered darkly, "But only because I've always ended up fighting people much stronger than me! I'll have you know I've yet to loose a gym challenge!"   
"Oh? And how many have you challenged?" I pressed slyly, feeling better by the second.   
Slowly a grin spread across his face and he pushed back his sleeve to reveal a thick band of dark green velvet tied around his wrist. Undoing the tight not with relative ease, he carefully unrolled the swath until it was lying flat on his lap, a rectangle of about ten centimetres by five. There, pinned through the material, gleamed a double-feather shaped badge, a badge resembling a flattened ladybird and yet another badge I instantly recognised as Whitney's plain badge. 

"Three?!" I exclaimed, my loss now banished completely from my mind, "_**THREE?! **_I thought you said you started only a few days before I did!"   
Jay was now looking distinctly sheepish.   
"I was on the road for just a bit longer than I let on, I'll admit." He muttered, rolling up the emerald material and wrapping it back around his arm to be covered up by one white sleeve "So what? I still only have a-a fortyfivepercentvictoryrate."   
When I opened my mouth to argue he raised a finger to my lips and stood up.   
"The Pokémon will be healed soon, I suggest you take the time to change, we do kinda stink."   
Although I wasn't ready to drop the subject, my dear devious pal had a point. Still equipped with the key for the room I'd slept in last night, I promised him adamantly that "this conversation isn't over!" and made my way into the annoyingly cheery room, with its buttercup yellow walls and pale blue carpeting. Although I didn't want to make more work for the maids, walking across that bloody carpet, leaving a trail of gooey purple footprints, gave me so much sadistic pleasure I found myself pacing back and forth before snatching my only other outfit, comprised of black t-shirt and long jean shorts entirely inappropriate for the dropping temperatures of autumn, and treating myself to a much-needed shower. 

Once the last bit of Bellsprout juice had disappeared off to sewer land I dressed and dropped the dirty clothes down a chute in the wall to be washed by Pokémon centre staff. I felt almost pampered… And so did my Pokémon, apparently, because when I arrived downstairs I found Raijin stretched out and the biggest and comfiest couch in the place, his long, scaled tail drooping over the arm, twitching lazily. He kept getting shot venomous glares by trainers hanging about waiting for their Pokémon to be healed - as long as he was there they were confined to the older, shaggier sofas and a straight-backed plastic chair sitting forlornly in the corner.   
Trying to ignore the glares of my fellow trainers as they realised I was the one responsible for the space-wasting Mydral, I trotted over to him and put my hands on my hips.   
"Where's everyone gone?" I demanded, "And what gives you the right to that sofa?"   
One golden eye opened a slit as Raijin turned his attention up to me, sinking deeper into the sea of cushions he'd amassed.   
_"To the gym, I suspect." _He yawned lazily, apparently not bothered enough to be stubborn or mysterious, _"Ahside from thaht snivelling Spinahrahk, who hahs been confined to her Pokebahll. Ahs for my rights… You wouldn't understahnd. Ahfter ahll, you've never hahd the ahdahvtahge of being ahble to knock ahnyone unconscious with very little thought." _he gave the nearest trainer, a short girl with curly purple hair a particularly nasty look as he said the latter, looking extremely pleased with himself.   
_"Of course, I'd only ever give them the tiniest of shocks…"_ he pledged, although the sinister look remained in his eyes. 

I sighed in exasperation, although I felt as jittery as ever under that golden stare, and took a step away from Raijin.   
"If they've gone to the gym, we're going with them." I insisted, "And you're coming with me, to fight for the Zephyr badge."   
Mydral snorted at this, as though the very concept itself was foolish.   
_"You're wrong, humahn."_ he informed me icily, _"I shahll not be doing ahnything for you, leahst of ahll fight ahfter ah dahy such ahs this."_   
My eyes narrowed, "Do I have to drag you?"   
Another snort.   
_"Do I hahve to shock you?"_

"So," Jay laughed, "What was that you said about making him into an 'asset to your team'?"   
I was finding it excruciatingly hard not to rip out his throat at that very moment, now standing outside the gym with all of his Pokémon, Hades and Polienix. I'd stomped all the way out here, having been beaten in the threatening game by that infernal dragon, only to realise that I'd left Arina behind and thus only had two Pokémon to fight against the gym trainers with. Not that my nervy Spinarak would have made much difference anyway, but fighting with only two Pokémon made me feel somewhat pathetic.   
"Oh, he'll be an asset." I muttered, glowering, "I'll buy some thumbscrews, then he'll have to respect me."   
"Just make sure they're plastic," Jay advised, still grinning obnoxiously, "Or else you'll only make the situation worse!"   
"Thank you for your words of wisdom, oh great one." I growled as Polienix landed on my shoulder, "I'll remember to ask you next time I need advice on how to get stuck with a 45% win rate!" 

With that I bolted into the gym, Hades at my heels, and gazed about before Jay could say anything in reply. The inside was much larger than I'd anticipated, with a high, flat ceiling and blue slate flooring that seemed to be giving off heat. Twin pillars guarded the end through which I had just entered, the names of those trainers who had defeated Falkner inscribed in neat lettering down each. Peering closer I saw just how many names there were, taking reassurance in their number. This guy couldn't be too strong if he'd lost _that_ many times.   
I stepped out of the shady sidelines just in time to see a girl who looked about eight have a final blow dealt against her Bellsprout (argh…) by a guy's Pidgeotto, smashing the plant Pokémon into the wall with a strong battering from its wings.   
"The round goes to Violet gym defender Abe!" the ref declared, jabbing his green flag in the direction of the dungaree-clad boy.   
The girl's lip trembled, tears welling up in her eyes, before she rushed onto the field, gathering up her Pokémon in surprisingly strong arms and sprinting through the heavy swinging doors. I watched the doors swing back to resting position before gathering myself and speaking out.   
"I'd like to, uh, battle for the Zephyr badge." I told the gym in general, feeling small at my own inexperience. 

'Abe' returned his Pidgeotto to its ball, gesturing to a redheaded girl on the sidelines.   
"Well, you've gotta beat one of Falkner's junior trainers first." she declared, "To qualify, if that makes sense?"   
I nodded, yes, dragging my fingers through Polienix's feathers self-consciously. She chirped reassuringly, apparently not even fazed by the curious stares she was receiving from these bird fanatics.   
"Well then," said the girl, straightening her stiff blue gi and stepping fully into the light, "Let's get started, huh?"   
The referee, an Asian boy with thin black hair jelled into spikes, raised the flags above his head as I accepted again.   
"This is a one-on-one qualification battle between the challenging trainer and defender Jean Willis of Violet gym." he announced, "Each may use one Pokémon **only**! Begin!"   
Jean grinned, chucking a customised white Pokéball with sky blue markings onto the field.   
"Go! Fearow!" she hollered as a gangly looking brown bird with a fearsome looking beak formed in front of her.   
"Feeeear!" it squawked, sharp talons digging into the ground as if it were bare soil rather than grey slate.   
I bit my lip as I realised my predicament; I was going to have to beat this girl at her own game. I was originally going to let Hades have a stab at it but now that I saw the flooring I could just picture him slipping over and over again. Thoughts of how effective Raijin's electricity would have been I cursed inwardly. Stupid dragon and his stupid attitude… 

"Pol, let's do this."   
She blinked, not expecting me to choose her for obvious reasons, but flared her wings and fluttered into battle position on the ground. In my mind I was desperately trying to remember flying type's weaknesses in case there were any I could exploit but my mental probe drew only blanks aside from electric and rock, neither of which were at my disposal for this battle.   
"The challenger makes an interesting decision with the rare psychic and ice flyer, Polienix!" the ref cried like an announcer to an invisible crowd, "Will size or strategy win this battle?"   
I struggled not to laugh; yeah, me, strategy pro. I'd only been on the road for nearly two weeks! Not that strategy wouldn't help… 

"Arrow, speed things up with agility!" Jean ordered.   
"Feeeaaarr!" it croaked in response, fired up its wide wings and taking flight.   
Although the ceiling stopped it from going too high, the huge brown bird seemed used to such close quarters, using the heated floor to maintain height as it picked up speed and circled the arena. Polienix looked worried, but ready.   
I almost ordered a sand attack but, quickly realising there was no sand around to attack _with_, I swapped it into a command for Powder Snow. Again the temperature dropped as Pol started to concentrate, the room becoming colder and colder before white flakes started to gather.   
"What a cool idea!" the ref joked rather pathetically, "I'm shivering in anticipation!"   
Looking just as disgusted as I felt, Jean ignored his commentary as it ran on through word-pun bliss and called out her counter attack.   
"Stop it from concentrating with fury attack, Arrow!" she called to her bird, "If you do the temperature should rise again."   
Its wings beating harder now, Arrow battled to gain just a bit more height before diving straight at Polienix just as the little bird decided to gain some height herself to whip up a gust to propel her summoned snow. The big Fearow missed her by mere centimetres as Pol rose faster than Arrow had anticipated, forcing the enemy to make a hasty slide-landing that just avoided twisting back and snapping its talons. 

"Look, look, it's on the ground!" I cried crazily, jumping up and down and pointing like a madwoman while it struggled to get back into the air with very little success, "Get it while it's down, Pol!"   
Flapping her little wings, Polienix whipped up just enough of a breeze for her psychic strength to be able to maintain it, the snow swirling around in a mini-twister. A twist in the air and she was facing the grounded Arrow once again, looking one hell of a lot more confident now that she had the upper hand.   
"Damn it, watch out girl!" cried Jean, her fists clutched tightly at her sides.   
"Forget about taking off again, just brace yourself!"   
Lowering her head on her long neck, Fearow did just that, curving her wings like two great feathery shields as Polienix's powder snow pounded at her defences. The individual flakes bounced off her body, picked up again and thrown straight back, without much effect from what I could see. But inspiration struck…   
"Pol, let the snow build up on her!" I hollered, suddenly beaming like some sort of demented Mr. Mine, "It might slow her down enough to get in a heavier hit!"   
"Ah, an interesting tactic from the challenger!" that irritating announcer-referee hybrid was commenting, "It looks like our fearless Arrow is about to find herself a bit _under the weather_, if you get my _drift_! Hahahaha!" 

Wincing (from the most recent wisecrack or the cold wet stuff currently building up on her Pokémon I couldn't tell), Jean was not looking happy.   
"That's it!" she yelled, face contorting into something red and furious as her Pokémon's red head crest disappeared under the growing mound, "Arrow, Get out and use Mirror Move!"   
"Ah, she'll never get out that… easily?" I stuttered in amazement as Fearow threw her wings open, a good deal of the snow flying off her feathers and plastering itself to Polienix's face.   
With an ear-rending squeak, the bigger bird whipped up a much stronger wind of her own, blasting all every last flake of Pol's attack right back at her in a terrifying snowstorm.   
_"Cold!"_ Polienix cried, a comment I couldn't help but thing was stupid coming from an ice type, folding her wings and diving under the flurry to the safety of the ground. 

"Good job!" Jean encouraged from the sidelines, "Now get in there in hit her with that Fury attack!"   
With the snow gone, Fearow seemed to find it much easier to fly, something I couldn't help but think strange. She hurled herself forwards, slamming into Polienix with her beak and peaking up a storm before either of us could react. I heard a whine at knee-level as Hades hid behind my legs but ignored it.   
"Scratch!" I chanced, hoping my first Pokémon could buy herself enough time to escape the barrage.   
Meanwhile, my mind was churning.   
_'Why? Why faster… does it have to do with the snow? Or the temperature? Or the…' _

Raijin was the worst though. His enormous wingspan just wouldn't allow him to get into the air and there was no way he was latching onto Cerb like Hades and Fidranger had done. Instead he struggled, hissing at Jay when the boy moved to help him out, and muttered angrily about "no bloody updrahft" and "pahthetic slahve dog". 

"No bloody updraft!" I choked suddenly, earning myself a strange look from the male gym trainer and the ref that I missed entirely, "That's it, that's IT! Polienix," I called to the little bird as she fled Arrow's beak, "Freeze the floor! Its warm and its letting Fearow fly well inside!"   
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Polienix and Butterfree had flown fine inside the Bellsprout because they had their minds to help them but Raijin, with his larger size and wider wingspan, had been completely and utterly ground-bound. 

"Hot damn, or, rather, _cold_ damn, there's a strategy if I ever did see one!" whooped the announcer bloke, for once widening my grin rather than forcing it into a wince, "Let's see if Falkner's apprentice Jean and her Fearow Arrow can think a way out of this!"   
"Shut up Gov, just shut the heck up!" Jean roared at the boy, who shrunk back from her invoked wrath, "You're a **referee**, not a bleeding **announcer**!"   
Giving her an angry sniff, he shut his mouth even as Polienix fluttered about like a crazed Venomoth near a lamp, cooling the floor down as best as she could with concentrated bursts of snow and ice.   
"Arrow, we've got to work fast. She's flying about, she's psychic type, there's only one thing for it!" sneering at Polienix as though she were some sort of scum, Jean shouted, "PURSUIT!"   
"Ohno." I squeaked, as the gangly bird gathered her deepest reserves of strength and forced herself into the air, "Pol, fly faster! That's a dark type move!"   
Seeming to realise her predicament, did exactly as she was told, continuing to cool down the floor as though her life - or at least consciousness - depended on it. Arrow was fast though, now that she had only one target in her mind the big Fearow didn't seem to mind that her wings were beating at top speed just to stay aloft, or that the ceiling wasn't as high as she would have liked. Powering her way along, she had only victory in mind.   
"Use agility to speed up!" Jean commanded, although it didn't take a genius to see that her precious Fearow was at top speed already.   
And gaining, I realised with a gulp, gaining fast.   
"Polienix, if you don't speed up she's gonna-"   
"I know, I know!" the little creature responded, _"Trust me!" _

Dropping the cooling beam, she put full attention into flying, using her psychic abilities to perform otherwise impossible turns. Arrow, tight on her tail, was having a hard time keeping up even with the steadily warming floor but each foot lost just drove her to try harder. As she reached the wall behind Jean, Pol changed direction again, flying straight back at Arrow. At the last second she dove, talons scraping harshly along the ground, and ducked right beneath the bigger bird to fly back towards the gap between winner's pillar and the wall. Arrow barely turned in time to avoid the wall but came tearing back as though her tail feathers were on fire, careening towards the gap… a gap Pol herself could barely squeeze through…   
"Arrow, NO!" Jean cried out in horror, seeing all too well what my surprisingly devious little bird had cooked up.   
But she was too late; Polienix clipping in her wings and soared out the other side while Arrow the Fearow, with a resounding crunch, smashed one wing off the pillar and tossed herself at full speed into the wall. She toppled, breath harsh in the back of her throat, to the ground and lay there with even less motion than Hades had retained after his scrap with the Hoothoot. 

"ARROW!" Jean screamed, sprinting from her position on the other side of the arena before the ref even started to announce her defeat, "Oh gawd, Arrow…"   
As she lifted the Fearow's head into her lap I felt a wave of guilt - it was _my_ fault that bird was in such a state. But then, would Polienix have gotten off any lighter? I doubted it. While Jean returned her well and truly beaten Pokémon to her ball, I let Pol land on my shoulder and stroked her feathers gently. Her chest was still heaving from exertion, but there was an ecstatic look of victory glowing in her eyes.   
_"I **like** this!"_ she chirped enthusiastically, _"We have to go far if I can fight more battles like **that**! Did you see me beat that great big bird? Did ya? Did ya?!"_   
"Beat is a bit of an understatement," I responded with a grin, "You _thrashed _that big buzzard."   
Practically beaming with pride, Polienix kept her head held high as the referee walked over with some sort of stamp pad in his hand.   
"That was fab!" he told us, "Absolutely marvellous!"   
I found myself expecting a '_darling_' tagged on the end and when it didn't come felt a bit let down. Eccentrics were hard to come by, but extremely entertaining, as my father always said. I glanced at the stamp pad.   
"Uh, what's that for?" 

He blinked, for a second shocked out of his over the top personality, "You don't… know?"_   
"No, she ahsked you just for the fun of it."_ a familiar voice drawled.   
I raised an eyebrow at Raijin, who was giving Gov the referee a dead stare.   
"I thought you weren't coming?" I asked of the self-centred dragon who, to my amazement, seemed to blush.   
_"Stupid old lahdy with her stupid photo ahlbum…"_ he grumbled under his breath, scales sticking out in a fluster.   
"Ahem." Coughed the boy, making sure we hadn't forgotten about him entirely, "The stamp is given to trainers who beat one or the other of Falkner's junior trainers. As long as it stays on your hand you may challenge him, understood?"   
"So that means I have how long…?"   
"Considering that it's fairly late right now, darling," a silent 'yesssssss!' on my part at the sacred word, "You probably only have about three tries at most. You'd be surprised how easily these things come off while you're asleep." He continued conversationally, taking my pale hand in his and stamping a blue image of the Zephyr badge with the words "approved" written underneath in block capitals onto my skin. I peered at it in interest, titling my hand back and forth under the lights of the gym, before nodding my approval. 

"You up for it?" I asked of Polienix, a bit worried that she'd be too tired to fight after both the events of earlier and the fight against Arrow.   
Her eyes glinted almost scarily; I'd never expected this cute looking baby bird to be so fight-inclined, _"Yup!"_   
Hades just wagged his tail when I asked him the same, stopping only to growl at Raijin, who, in turn, gave me a look of pure 'fine, damn you.' The other junior trainer - Abe - stopped us as we neared the stairs even though he'd watched the fight already.   
"Protocol." He muttered, before stepping back and allowing my Pokémon and I to proceed.   
We immerged in a fairly posh study, quite dark aside from the lamp turned on low in one corner. A young man with glossy black hair sat in a black leather chair underneath it, deeply engrossed in a thick book bound in brown material. With its royal blue carpet and dark wood trim, the room gave me the impression of a rich executive's quarters, not a gym leader's pad.   
Feeling fairly uncomfortable, I fake coughed to get the man's attention, his head snapping up instantly.   
"Sorry," he apologised, holding up the book for me to see before slipping a long brown Pidgeotto feather in the pages to keep his place and putting the book carefully on a desk.   
From the way he skirted around things and stepped especially cautiously, I got the impression that Falkner was about as comfortable as I was in here. Dressed in a plain white uniform, oriental in style, he didn't really fit in with the room and seemed off-put by the fact. 

"You're here to battle, I suppose." He assumed, dark green eyes shifting from my face to the curious bird on my shoulder in fascination.   
"Is that a Polienix, by any chance?" he inquired, reaching out a hand when I nodded, "Could I hold her for a second?"   
"You'd have to ask her-" I started, but my Pokémon had already hopped from shoulder to offered arm and was studying Falkner with as much interest as he was showing her.   
My discomfort increased as he hmmed softly while inspecting my first companion without a glance in my direction. Raijin yawned.   
"Hey," I finally interrupted, when Hades suddenly expressed an interest in the taste of an expensive table leg, "This stamp thing won't be here forever, you know." I realised how rude I Must have sounded, by the flying gym leader looked so far off in his own little word that I doubted he'd even noticed.   
"Oh, of course." He muttered, proving me right as he handed over my Pokémon with a dazed look on his face. Shaking it off, the man continued in a more down-to-business tone, "This way, please." 

The next flight of stairs was much more practical than the last, plain grey concrete leading up to a rooftop covered in packed dirt. Out here I knew that updraft would be coming off the building itself so Falkner must have decided to help his birds out by giving them an easy to grasp surface to fight on. Fair enough, all my Pokémon were clawed too and could easily use this terrain to their advantage.   
After surveying my team, Falkner nodded to himself and strode over to one of the two trainer platforms sticking out of the ground. Huge and solid, the two platforms had ladders at the back and safety barriers all around to stop anyone falling off. Positioned at either side of the roof, they allowed a trainer to have the best view over the fight as well as reducing the number of injuries caused by stray attacks. I couldn't help thinking that, in this gym, height perhaps wasn't the safest way to go but climbed up to mine anyway, returning Hades to his Pokéball to get him up there while Raijin and Polienix flew.   
"Ready?" Falkner called, throwing a black luxury ball onto the field when I gave the affirmative nod.   
The familiar flash of scarlet lit up the field, building up to form the distinctive shape of a Pidgey. With short legs, stubby wings and brown and tan feathers, Pidgey were both extremely common and extremely stubborn fighters. What they lacked in strength they more than made up for with sheer tenacity.   
I looked down at my team, "Any takers?" Hades let out a short yap, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, and stepped up to fight. Polienix looked slightly upset that she wasn't the one fighting, but Houndour seemed to want to make up for his earlier failure now. 

"Alright Pidgey, start off with a quick attack!" Falkner ordered, his arms crossed over his white-covered chest.   
The bird Pokémon leapt straight into the air, the sun behind it making me squint as I tried to keep tabs on the small creature.   
"Don't let it hit you! Use a smog attack to limit its vision!" I ordered, suddenly feeling extremely tense. I think my brain had finally recognised that, yes, this was a gym battle and, no, I couldn't afford to loose.   
Detecting the urgency in my voice, Hades drew in air before expelling it hard as a thick green gas, one that spiralled up towards the diving Pidgey.   
"Pidge-yah!" it squawked, disappearing into the cloud of poisonous gases.   
I could hear it coughing and spluttering within the cloud, the odd feather appearing through the edge of the fog before being sucked back in.   
Falkner frowned, letting his crossed arms fall to his sides in a less confident position.   
"Clear the smog with gust attack, Pidgey!" he commanded, "And try not to breath in too much of that stuff."   
"Oh no you don't, Hades! Ember!" I snapped gripping the railing that surrounded my platform.   
Pidgey flapped hard and well, the great gusts of wind coming off it dispatching the gas straight up and off into the atmosphere. But it had only just gotten rid of the last few puffs of the smog when Hades' well-aimed ember soared up from his jaws, a roaring fireball that slammed right into its feathery chest, sending the creature spinning head over tail backwards. 

"Aaaand bite!" I cried, punching the air enthusiastically and nearly dislodging Polienix from my shoulder.   
Before Pidgey could recover it found itself snatched out of the air in Hades' powerful maw and thrown into the base of Falkner's platform as he landed hard on all fours and released his grip at the last moment. For a second I thought the bird was knocked out, only to be corrected as it extended one wing and heaved itself back onto its talons. Pidgey looked well under the weather by this time, panting like a dog with its wings spread on the ground in front of it. Still, it looked like it was ready to go to the ends of the earth for its trainer, making me wonder exactly how Falkner did it.   
"It's weak now, Hade." I told him, "It won't be hard to finish it off."   
But Falkner was shaking his head.   
"Pidgey, return." He ordered, holding up the ball as his bird was absorbed in a brilliant beam of red light. Seeing the confused look on my face he continued, "I can afford to be one Pokémon down. This next one will be able to make up for it. Go, Hurricane!" 

From the resulting burst of light came a much larger bird than Pidgey had been, with the same tan and brown feathers and black markings around the eyes I could tell that it was an evolved form.   
**"Pidgeotto."** my Pokédex identified it as, **"The Bird Pokémon. Very protective of its sprawling territorial area, this Pokémon will fiercely peck at any intruder."**   
The medium sized flyer was currently raking its pale pink beak through the golds and reds of its tail feathers, preening for all it was worth. It glanced up when the entry ended, eyes glinting. But suddenly it blinked, its head jerking back, before taking to the air to peer into my trainer's box. The glint quickly returned and I swear that thing smirked (although it had a beak, making such an action impossible) before setting back down on the ground.   
"Okay Hades, it can't be that strong." I assured him, flicking my ponytail over the shoulder not taken up by Pol, "Ember that Pidgeotto to kingdom come!"   
"Oh no you don't! Hurricane! Sand attack!"   
Pidgeotto did more than a simple sand attack. Soaring high over the offending ball of fire, it flew down right in front of Hades, whipping up a huge cloud of sand that it threw into the puppy's eyes. With a yelp of surprise and pain, the Houndour stumbled backwards, eyes clenched shut, and hadn't the time to even start to defend himself before Pidgeotto's beak found purchase on the scruff of his neck. A yelp of fear was all he managed as the scarily strong Hurricane hauled him into the air and just kept going higher!   
I wanted to order a defence of some sort, anything to get rid of the advantage that bird currently had, but they were now about twenty feet up and I just couldn't risk it.   
_"Feeling a bit airsick?"_ our enemy crowed, suddenly performing a loop-de-loop in the air that sent Hades into a whimpering fit, _"Ah, don't worry. You can kiss the ground soon enough." _  
With that he dove, Hades dangling beneath him, swooping past Falkner and covering half the arena before releasing the dog and sending him tumbling across the packed dirt. Hades kept sliding all the way to the edge of the rooftop before slamming into the safety railing with a heavy thud. I ran to look down at him, a ting sounding behind me of claws on metal. 

_"I see you're ahs pahthetic ahs ever, Hurricane," _Raijin sneered, front paws up on the railing as he criticised the other Pokémon, _"Still cahn't fight ah strahight fight."_   
_"And I'm sure you're just perfect now, Jin-Jin."_ Hurricane spat right back, _"Unless I'm much mistaken you've many more marks to your name than I do, dear **chum."**_   
My head turned slowly to look at them as Hades managed to stand up again on the lower level. Confusion blossomed; did these two know one another?   
_"I'll show you whaht-"_   
Hurricane merely laughed,_ "You? Show me something? I hope you don't mean on the battlefield, Jin-Jin, because I assure you that I will not be the one learning."_ he paused for a second before snorting out, _"I could, of course, learn a lot from you about failure… You know what I mean, eh?"_   
I thought I'd seen the worst of Raijin's fury, but I knew just how wrong I was now. Not attacking, not yelling or anything of the sort, Raijin simply turned around to me and said, _"Let me fight him."_   
I was surprised he'd asked, but it quickly occurred to me that perhaps he wanted a proper trainer battle to make sure that any victory he might gain was official. I'd seen fighters at my dad's gym do the same, something of a grudge match.   
But still… I shook my head, "No way! You won't even obey me and this is my first ever gym battle!"   
_"Fine!"_ he snapped, _"I'll obey you **just this once and only if you give me decent…** _commahnds._"   
'Oh, yummy.'_ thought my mind as I leapt at the chance to have my electric-type Pokémon actually obey in a flying-type gym.   
I held out my hand without a moment's hesitation, "Deal. Hades is tired anyway, he needs a break."   
Raijin's long nose wrinkled at the offered hand, _"Just becahse I'm obeying you doesn't meahn I hahve to touch you."_ he spat, spreading both wings and leaping from the platform as Hades grudgingly allowed himself to be recalled into his Pokéball. 

"That probably wasn't the wisest thing you've ever done," Falkner informed me, giving Raijin I good long stare, "You had a two-one advantage that you just threw out the window."   
"Says he who returned his Pidgey." I muttered darkly in response, my tone changing to one of 'wow-this-is-so-cool' as I yelled to Raijin, "Agility!"   
To my surprise - but not necessarily dislike - the powerful Mydral did as he was told instantly, throwing himself into the burst of speed he forced his muscles to provide. He started running a figure eight pattern, little more than a purple blur, as Hurricane glided lazily above him on outstretched wings.   
"Knock that Mydral off-course with gust." Falkner commanded his ruthless Pokémon, arms crossed once again.   
Hurricane ignored this command entirely, saying only, _"Wait a second, Falkner, I know what I'm doing."_   
The gym leader's jaw dropped, quite literally. His calm composition gone, he simply gaped at the Pidgeotto flying above. I got a sneaking suspicion Falkner was in no way used to being ignored. Myself on the other hand… I was just enjoying this rare spectacle of draconic obedience while it lasted.   
"Alright, Headbutt!" I called, hoping to put all that speed to use.   
This time Raijin did hesitate for just a fraction of a second before acquiescing to my request. He charged 'round the curve of his figure eight, dug in all four sets of golden talons and flew from the ground, huge gashes in the packed earth left from each claw. He was moving at quite a speed, only spreading his wings once he reached the top of his jump, and fought hard to maintain that speed as he flew at Hurricane.   
_"You can do better than that!"_ the Pidgeotto exclaimed, flapping up a quick gust as he propelled himself out the way.   
_"Indeed."_ Raijin agreed with a sadistic smirk, suddenly flaring his wings as if to stop and letting the gust flip him in the air.   
Like the bullwhip I so often compared it to, his long scaled tail sailed through the air as Mydral spun, lashing out and making solid contact with Hurricane's chin. 

I saw my chance, that physical contact would multiply the strength of Raijin's Thundershock by a lot, and called out the order for an electric strike. Before Hurricane could move away, he wrapped his tail was around the Pidgeotto's wing and sent a full jolt of electricity straight into its body.   
"Pidgeoooo!" Hurricane screeched, the sparks setting every feather on his body on end so that he resembled a flying fluffy toy.   
Forced to release his prey to avoid falling, Raijin allowed himself to go with the flip and used his momentum to turn back the right way up, wings catching the wind and billowing out like two huge sails.   
"That was superb!" I called up to him, "Now if you could just-"   
"Pidgeooootto!" screamed a furious bird, slamming his entire shoulder into Raijin's midsection before the dragon could do anything to stop him.   
Raijin's instant response was an uncontrolled burst of Thundershock, one that ran through both Pokémon and caused them to split apart, smoking slightly.   
"Quick attack!" Falkner tried again, this time eliciting the desired response from Hurricane, who charged forwards before Raijin could regain his lost breath.   
He cried out, wing edge just clipping Pidgeotto's face as he was thrown out of the air and into the metal railing in the same way that had knocked out Hades earlier. For a second it looked as though he'd been similarly affected, but the mass of purple struggled stubbornly up just in time to leap out of the way of a secondary strike that nearly brained Hurricane as he shot between rail and rooftop. Banking hard out over Violet, he cleared the rail on the way back, only to collide with Raijin as he performed a flying tackle at my command. 

"Aerial Ace!" Falkner suddenly barked, confusing me.   
How did…? 

How didn't matter. 

Hurricane had hit the ground aft being knocked out the sky by Raijin but now leapt up the meet the dragon, wings, beak and talons all smashing into his side. Letting out a roar of agony, he landed hard and staggered, rivulets of blood spilling from the inflicted wounds.   
"Raijin!" I called to him, "We can quit, you know that we can-"   
_"Shut up humahn!"_ he snarled in response, wincing as the inflation of his lungs sent spikes of pain through his side,_ "This fight shahll not be lost!"_   
With each shuddering breath he took Raijin was wincing, but even without his words I could see that he wasn't giving up. Claws still dug into the earth, wings slightly open, tail thrashing… he didn't look anywhere near beaten.   
"Quick, gust again and finish him!" Falkner bellowed, a winner's glint in his eyes.   
As determined as he was, I could see the tiniest bit of indecision in Mydral and snatched up the chance to prove that I wasn't just a human burden.   
"Use your wings!" I hollered to him, smiling encouragingly as his scaled head swung around to look at me in confusion, "Shield yourself with your wings and attack as soon as the winds let up!"   
Raijin raised his chin and for a second I thought he was going to ignore me but then, almost imperceptibly, nodded in agreement and curve both leathery appendages up and around as living protection just like Arrow the Fearow had done earlier. I could only hope that he came out better than our feathered opponent of downstairs had… 

Right now I couldn't tell. Wind and dust pummelled the stretched membranes, bouncing off like tiny ricocheting bullets as Hurricane urged them on. Pidgeotto didn't look like he was going to ever let the winds die down, his wings beating almost manically as he hurled the last of his strength at Raijin's defences. It was then, watching the two of them with my lip being gnawed on by my teeth, that I noticed the tiny bit of forward movement on Raijin's part. It was almost unnoticeable, but when I turned all attention to the electric dragon I was absolutely certain that he was edging towards his opponent.   
I was so busy staring, in fact, that I didn't realise that Falkner was staring at me until some forgotten part of my mind registered the eyes boring into my head. I jerked back into reality, looking up just in time to see the flying-type gym leader's dark green eyes flicker to Mydral, a sort of understanding lighting up in their depths.   
"Hurricane." He called almost quietly above the moan of the winds, "Be careful."   
His Pokémon risked a glance up at his trainer, wondering what the hell he meant, but it was a risk he shouldn't have taken.   
"NOW!" I bellowed, surprising Polienix right off me, and Mydral shot forwards like a coiled spring let loose. 

The primary impact winded Hurricane, smashing him onto his back in the dirt where he writhed in a failing attempt to right himself.   
_"No! Not **you**!"_ he shrieked with the last tiny bit of breath in his compressed lungs as Raijin towered over him.   
_"Yes, me."_ the dragon bragged, lifting one clawed paw and placing it on his fallen foe's heaving chest.   
I decided not to shout any further orders, letting my Pokémon perform the final blow. The air around the triumphant dragon crackled and snapped as he prepared to finish off Hurricane… when a bolt of red shot out and stole the fallen bird from under his claws. Raijin whipped around to face Falkner angrily, blood still seeping down his side, and let out a low growl.   
_"I won." _he declared, _"Now let me finish whaht we stahrted."_   
Falkner shook his head, looking almost disgusted.   
"A Pokémon battle isn't about making the other side faint, as such. You've already won, why put Hurricane through any more pain just to prove what has already happened?"   
_"I didn't see thaht sort of compahssion from you when the humahn girl's slahve dog wahs on the receiving end, humahn leahder." _Raijin snarled straight back, _"It is my right."_   
"Call him off." Falkner ordered me in a strained voice as Raijin started to stalk towards him, eyes fixated on the Pokéball in his hands.   
I coughed in embarrassment, "I'm not sure I can… Raijin, leave off. You don't want to stoop to that bird-brain's level, do you?"   
The dragon stopping in mid-step, shivering with exertion as he fought not to collapse.   
_"Who says I'm not alreahdy on his level, humahn?" _he finally inquired slowly, head not turning to face me.   
"I didn't see you dangling any helpless puppies twenty metres in the air." I pointed out as calmly as possible, "Unless you did that behind my back…?" 

Raijin snorted, apparently taking this into minor consideration. As he glanced back at me, I saw Falkner mouth "return him" to me across the field but didn't comply. If there was one way to make Mydral mad, that was it.   
_"Fine."_ The irate dragon finally snapped, stalking back to my side of the arena, _"Consider yourself lucky: two fahvours from me in one day."_   
Although the tiny matter of his nearly killing me earlier instantly leapt to mind at this statement, I knew when I was pushing it. This was one dragon who would not put up with being messed with any more than he already had.   
After recalling Raijin to his Pokéball, explaining that it would probably help avoid worsening his wounds, I climbed carefully down the ladder of my platform, the sky darkening overhead. I glanced up as I shook hands with Falkner to see a thick layer of black clouds taking over the sky, quite clearly threatening to rain.   
'_How fitting,'_ I thought sourly as the first big drops of rain started to fall and we both made a dash for the stairs,_ 'My first gym badge and the sky decides to celebrate in such a jolly fashion. Lovely.'_

Back inside that hated posh study, Falkner slid open a drawer in a big oak desk to reveal a whole lot of mess and a bow full of Zephyr badges. I fought not to let my feeling of individuality and greatness slip as I saw those, an effort aided by my pride as he slid the thumb-size silver badge into my palm. The same shape as my stamp - two angelical wings folded side-by side and joined at the base - the badge was cool and smooth to the touch, a few lines carved in for effect.   
"You might want to work on getting that Mydral to obey you though." Falkner advised as he showed me out, "Otherwise he might actually turn on you one day." Trying not to let him see my flaming cheeks at his very accurate observation, I stooped my body over Polienix and sprinted out into the rain that was now coming down in stair rods.   
Ducking into the Pokémon centre I found Jay and Magenix seated in the restaurant area, a familiar Pokéball sitting on the seat beside my male friend. He looked up as I walked over, dripping but still beaming.   
"You won then, I suppose?" he said, my expression revealing all.   
"Of course," I responded brightly, wringing out my hair onto the floor and earning myself a dirty look from a passing Chansey before plopping myself down across from Magenix. 

After sliding my new badge into my pocket for safe-keeping, I leant forwards and started to replay the two battles to Jay in great detail, feeling the happiest I had in ages. This journey was even better than I'd imagined it to be. No complaints from me… even about draconic enigmas.

* * *

Does anybody know exactly why Fanfictiondotnet has decided to destroy any dd tags, by the way, because it's completely messing up my formatting! Using double return to space out a fic... 'tis a disgrace! ::huffs:: Anyway, until that problem is sorted out I guess I'll just have to go with the flow... As much as I hate to admit it. 

_Opaltiger_ - Ah, yeah, the name for the regenball did come from Final Fantasy; I think it just happened to be the first word to jump into my head when I was thinking of the name. It seemed fitting so I kept it. Ruddy computers, crashing all the time... My Microsoft Works seems to have picked up a case of the programme-flu recently and I have to keep saving every five minutes. Does nothing for the creative flow, I tell ya! 

_Pheonix Rising_ - Thanks for pointing that out, actually (the slight, er, problem with a battle straight afterwards), without your pointing that out I wouldn't have given that fairly patchy explaination of Why They Were Not Eaten again. To tell the truth, I wanted to make sure Raven didn't end up with a scratch-free record this early on and decided that a loss against someone she wouldn't have had to fight against again would have been more interesting than a rematch against Jean or Falkner. THANK YOU for that comment! 

_The Mad Tortoise_ - Woah, I nearly missed this review entirely. Says something for my update speed just now, I suppose. . I'm actually trying to think of a way to get Big B (lol) to come back into the story at some later time but so far I keep coming up with blanks. I like the suggestion of having Ray and co. thrown back by the monks though, if it weren't for my fears as to how the plot might end up ("day three, got attacked by strange Bellsprout things again, day ten, shoes have been melted away entirely and Jay has joined tribe of Bellsprout, day fifteen, Raijin was dragged off and burnt at the stake by Bellsprouts on accusation of witchcraft... day 36, it seems that Polienix has been melted into a puddle that is slowly being absorbed by the walls I've been aiming to graffiti with miracle grow...") I might actually have had a go at that one. As for what exactly the vampire Bellsprout really were, I meant them to be some sort of, uh, things that were meant to help absorb prey. O.o; I might have been a bit vague about that though, thanks to the blasted writer's block I just got over. ¬.¬ Thanks for the review, althoguh I now have images of sages intent on sacrificing trainers to the great lord Bellsprout in my mind. XD 


	12. Matilda

Okay, this is one of those times in which The Block came in handy. I was all geared up to write a boring, happy-go-lucky anime-clone type chapter, in which Raven saves some pointless side character and gets given money, rewards, eternal friendship etc. etc. until writer's block decended upon me and my subconcious decided to come out of hiding to save my sorry behind.

During the wait, I have recieved some mixed reactions to the more recent chapters. I've been asked for more angst, less happyness, more Raven fighting scenes rather than just Pokemon battling, more Pokemon battling... well, you get the picture. The plot still requires Raven to enjoy this stage of her journey, but I've just about managed to squease some of the rest of everything in. I'm proud of this chapter, for all that it's worth. I hope you people like it too.

**Raven: Emerald Fist  
Mechyena Saga**

**Chapter XII: Matilda**

The rain came down in steeply angled sheets, making our cover useless. Jay and I were scrunched up against the trunk of an enormous oak tree, shivering in the bitter October cold. Soaked to the skin, I clung to the thought of buying a jumper in Goldenrod like Hades to a prime piece of meat. If only I'd had the money before we left Ecruteak! But no, it had taken three wins against amateur trainers like me to gain myself any cash whatsoever, and the loss that had meant that I would only be able to afford a single fluffy jumper was still hot in my mind. It had been so damn close…

_"Polienix, Powder Snow attack!"_

_My arms were covered with gooseflesh as I watched Polienix gather the small amount of power necessary for the chosen attack, the skies overhead hidden behind a grey carpet of sullen cloud. The cool breeze whipped my opponent's bright pink mohecan against her shiny scalp, giving her a wild and slightly crazy look._

_"Omela," she barked to her small brown mammal Pokémon, "Get in a quick attack and cut her off!"_

_The Omela, a four legged creature with short sandy fur covering its lightweight frame and a tail of medium length that swished cautiously in the dirt, leapt forwards in a blink, its large, Rapidash-like ears pressed against its skull as it sped towards Pol._

_"Watch out!" I cried to my first Pokémon but she was already reacting, abandoning the concentration necessary to complete the attack as she leapt out of harm's way with a few hard flaps of her icy wings._

_Her assailant soared past, the dark brown, bristly fur that ran down its back in one thin line shaking in a way similar to the Mexican wave as its small, delicate paws struck the ground._

_"Mellll…" it growled threateningly as it swung around, large charcoal eyes narrowed in concentration._

_"Quick, blind it!" I called in perfect unison with the other trainer, Mel, as she screamed out an order for headbutt._

_I felt a smug sense of satisfaction as her face contorted in anger at my luck; she clenched her slender hands so hard that the masses of bracelets that covered both arms from the wrist to the elbow shuddered and jangled together. As Omela's lithe form bounded from the ground it found itself quickly blinded in a whirlwind of sand whipped up by Polienix, who swerved out of the way yet again._

_"Woo-" I started to whoop, before Jay cut me off mid-shout with a grab to the wrist._

_"Don't be stupid," he warned urgently, shaking his sandy hair out of his eyes as the wind picked up a notch, "Watch what's going on!"_

_I blinked, only to hear Polienix's cry of pain as Omela's tiny jaws snapped shut on her blue and white tail feathers. Ignoring my shouts for her to do this and do that, Pol forced herself higher into the air, the other Pokémon writhing its whole body as it tried to inflict maximum damage. The pressure across my sweat-soaked brow increased as the wind speed continued to rise, massive black storm clouds rolling in from the west. Mel had started to shiver harder than I was - voluminous blue jeans and a strapless bright pink top weren't really the warmest of clothes - but both of us were too busy watching our Pokémon to complain._

_Seeing that Polienix was beyond my control at the moment, the previously outgoing and confident girl cupped her hands to her mouth in fear._

_"Lo-mo!" she yelled up at the squirming mammal, "Let go! Don't go any higher!"_

_But it seemed that her attempt was hopeless too, the air was now blowing franticly and wailing like a Meowth with its tail on fire. There was no way Omela could hear her._

_"Pol!"_

_"Lo!"_

_"Nooooooo!"_

_Suddenly my Pokémon let out an extra high squeal of pain as a clump of her tail feathers were ripped loose, allowing her to regain her head as Omela fell back to the safety of the ground, landing easily on all fours despite the brewing storm. Both of us let out sighs of relief, although I could feel the question Jay was shooting me silently. Mel and I exchanged glances, then nodded._ Let's make this damn fast, alright?!

_"Scratch!" I commanded as Polienix swooped low to hear me._

_She made an easy bank, using the rabid wind as an extra boost to propel herself back at Omela, but suddenlyI realised Mel was... was **smiling**. Something was definitely up with that, but what? Gritting my teeth, I tried to focus on the positive side of things: namely Polienix's amazing speed at the moment! She swooped in like a rocket, wings barely open and sharp talons held ready for the strike. But suddenly Omela jumped, shooting up from the ground with the stolen feathers still clutched in its maw and performing a complicated twist in the air to aim itself down. Polienix's horrified expression mirrored my own; her wings flailed as she tried to regain height but it was too late - her body smashed uncontrollably into the ground beneath the decending mammal._

_But it wasn't done yet. Kicking both back legs out fiercely as its eyes gleamed with the look a Pokémon normally gets when praised (although I was entirely certain that Mel hadn't opened her smiling mouth), the little beast tore a pained cry from Pol as it sent her skidding a few more feet._

_"Polienix…" I moaned, my shoulders drooping for my Pokémon._

_"It's the feathers," said Jay suddenly, barely audible over my shout as Omela's tail wrapped around the bird's left talon and twisted her through the dust._

_"You have to get the feathers out of its mouth, Polienix!"_

_I didn't understand what he was on about - feathers? How on earth could a bunch of fluffy quills make a difference in a fight? Perhaps Jay was going mad… But then again, it was probably worth a try._

_"Use peck attack to grab those feathers!" I ordered Pol, although I was uncertain if she even had the strength to jump, let alone perform a precision move._

_Omela seemed to have predicted this choice of moves. As my first Pokémon struggled to force herself up on the front edges of her wings, it ran back and away, halting in front of its trainer's feet with a catch-me-if-you-can glint in its large black eyes. Although I bit my lip nervously, Polienix's normally naïve and happy face morphed into a mask of determination: she **was** going to pull off this move._

_Hauling herself to her clawed feet, Polienix flapped her wings and threw herself forwards, beak snapping at the feathers held captive in Omela's maw. Like a fox, the other Pokémon dodged swiftly out of the way, dancing around Mel's legs before leaping over Pol as she dove forwards to attack. With a squawk the bird pivoted sharply, racing clumsily after her quarry with a combination of waddling and half-flight._

"I-I'll.. G-g-get you!" _she panted after the forth failed attempt, one that found her in a sweating pile in the dust. _

Spitting out the stolen feathers, Omela simply strode confidently over to its fallen opponent.

"Molaa," it crooned silkily, with a sparkle in its dark eyes that read "yeah right" to any and all.

Before I could do anything to stop it, the Janeran Pokémon bit down hard into Polienix's shoulder, drawing one last keen of pain from the beaten bird before her head dropped in a dead faint.

I winced at the memory, scanning the sodden earth around us for something to divert my attention from the painful loss. Ah, how inspiring. The sight consisted of mud, mud, puddles, mud, grass, mud, tree root, mud, small shiny red- what?

"Hey, do you see that?" I inquired inquisitively, nudging Jay in the side with my elbow and pointing.

Raking his soaking blond hair out of his eyes with one hand, my companion's nose wrinkled as he peered along my arm. He stared for a second, before giving me a sideways look.

"Raven Thomas, this is a most amazing discovery," he finally whispered, my eyes widening at his words.

"Really?"

"Why of course," he gestured at the ground, "You've discovered… mud."

My expression of hope snapped clean off in an instant, replaced by the more commonly seen scowl.

"Shut up, dogface," I growled, moving away from the tree to take a closer look.

Brushing my hand over the tiny patch of colour that was peeping through the sludge, I felt my hopes plummet again at the sight of red and white; something that looked suspiciously like the foil top of a yoghurt pot. If I had to give Jay the pleasure of being right… but perhaps not. As I pushed more mud away, a gleam I more commonly associated with Pokéballs glinted through, although whatever it was definitely wasn't a Pokéball - too flat. Digging my fingers beneath it, I pulled out a small, smooth gadget that fit easily in the palm of my hand and a saturated piece of dirty paper. Styled similarly to a standard Pokémon-catching device, the centre button was made of shiny black plastic and the words "HD Realspec" were carved into the top and bottom lobes.

"So, what is it?" Jay enquired, obviously having noticed my grubbing about like a human Grumpig.

"Oh, it's just-"

I glanced at the paper.

And froze.

"N-nothing much."

Hearing him coming up behind me, I tucked the paper into the waistband of my trousers and covered it with my shirt before he could see it.

"Just this weird, uh, thing."

I held up the 'Realspec' in one wavering hand, feeling my forehead break out into a cold sweat. I felt sick, all thanks to that… that _thing._

Warm fingers brushing mine as he took the offered item from me, Jay frowned at the look on my face and the pale pallor of my skin.

"You alright?" he questioned as I gathered my strength and stood.

I nodded, too shocked to process more words and speak. On reflection, there was no way he could have missed my queer reaction even in the rain, but at the time I took it as a blessing when he held a hand out beyond the protection of the tree and into the full downpour of the water.

"Okay, but I doubt this is letting up any time soon," he squinted into the dim distance before pulling a face, "We should keep going."

I nodded numbly, a dull ache of terror starting up in my stomach as I followed his lead. We walked. As the rain spat insistently into my amber eyes, I started to sew reason into my torn sense of reality. Okay, so it wasn't a good thing. Maybe… maybe there was only one of it. Maybe it was a joke between friends. Maybe it was someone else…

…maybe my father was actually putting in the effort to find me. Because, stuck between my midriff and the waistband of my jean shorts, was a poster very simple in design.

WANTED

Raven Thomas

Gender: Female

Height: 5' 8"

Weight: 67kg

Last seen outside Malmarsh fighting dojo wearing a loose white t-shirt, long jean shorts and with bare feet. Has stocky frame and knows various martial arts skills. Amber eyes are most prominent feature. If seen, please call (024) 76 67 3442. Reward offered to any providing information!

Beneath the huge "WANTED" was printed a copy of an old photo of me, taken when I had gone on holiday with my friends Samantha and Elliot. We'd gone down to Seasalt for one week of the summer holiday, but had managed to time it badly. It rained every day we stayed there and only stopped the night after we left. The photo had been taken when I was sitting on the edge of one of the cliffs guarding Seasalt's harbour, rain coming down in a style similar to the precipitation I was currently enduring. I remember Sam had come up behind me, telling me to stop being such a freakoid and come in from the rain. When I turned around I'd been blinded by the bright flash of her disposable camera, and the result was this very photo - the wind tossing my hair into wild turmoil as I glanced over my shoulder with a sceptical expression on my face. It had been a worthy holiday, but now its memory was helping the police trap me down. How lovely.

The nudge of Jay's elbow into my arm brought me back into reality, felling slightly less stunned than before.

"There it is," he said, managing a nod even as he squinted through the rain.

I peered through the screen of water in the direction he was looking, only to find that Goldenrod was closer than I'd expected. Towering through the gloom, its unique skyline stood out against the clouds, a mixture of spiked spires, blocky apartments and domes of the like I'd never seen back home. But it was a city alright, even if it appeared far more modern than its sprawling Janeran cousin.

"That's Goldenrod?" I asked needlessly as the sound of shoe sole on brick indicated that we were now on manmade ground.

The pale brick road had risen out of the mud without my noticing and as we walked further the first buildings - residential things whose windows blazed golden squares of light - started to materialize out of the downpour like great square wraiths. Slowly they built up; bigger buildings more closely packed together replacing the initial structures as we got closer to the main part of the city.

It took about thirty minutes to walk all the way in, Goldenrod was that big, and by the time the familiar red roof of the Pokémon centre peeped into view from between two skyscrapers that feeling of worry was settling in the pit of my stomach once again. Together we traipsed inside, the typical centre smell washing over us as the blue glass doors slid closed behind us with a hiss.

It was the biggest Pokémon centre I'd ever seen, bigger than even the one back home. Up and down escalators trundled on their way against the right hand wall, a doorway that peeped out beneath it going into the lounge area, if the arm of a maroon sofa I glimpsed through the gap said anything. The floor was squeaky clean as we walked forwards, dripping water onto the shining tile, but a bored looking old lady dressed in a blue apron over her pink floral print shirt and worn straight leg jeans walked right over and started to clean up behind us with a mop.

The main desk was massive too, manned by two nurses and a Chansey, and the sound of cutlery and chatter blared through from the door to the left. What stood out most, however, was the number of people stood about. The place was packed! As Jay and I joined the surprisingly short line to get to the counter to have our Pokémon healed and to book in for a few nights I looked around to see trainers leaning against the walls, Pokémon nattering in groups, the large canteen that was now visible through the double doors packed out and people sitting on the floor in the lounge.

As we reached the desk, the nurses taking people's Pokémon and handing others back mechanically, Jay spoke up to the nearest human attendant.

"Is there a particular reason why it's so crowded in here?" he asked the weary nurse, "And is there any way we could get two rooms for the night?"

Rubbing at her violet eyes and pausing to push an escaping lock of sea blue hair out of her face, the nurse stepped forwards to get out of her red haired Sister's way.

"It always gets like this when it rains," she explained with a yawn, "And as for the rooms…"

She tapped something into a nearby computer as the Chansey dashed over to take our Pokémon before scurrying off to have them healed.

"We have one room," the nurse finally said, "Two beds, one bathroom, one night. Do you still want it?"

The two of us exchanged glances before nodding in mutual agreement. It would keep us out of that damn rain, even if it was only for one night.

Early the next morning found me straddling a swing sideways, my forehead resting against the cold metal chains that supported the stiff black plastic as my hair, which I'd left down out of sheer laziness, did its best to become thoroughly entangled with the chain. My breath billowed out from my mouth in great clouds of steam and my muscles buzzed with the remaining adrenaline from my morning training as I stared blankly at the sheet of paper I tapped against one hand. I'd woken at four in the morning with that itching feeling at the back of my neck that told me going back to sleep was not an option. I had dressed quietly in the same clothes I had worn the day before, taking care to remove all but the empty Pokéballs from my belt before leaving the room. I didn't want company as I released myself upon the streets, walking aimlessly with hands shoved into pockets and head down in thought. My wanderings had eventually led me to a small empty lot that had been commandeered by the local kids and turned into a playground, swings and all.

And so, after a few brisk exercises in the moist gravel, I had ended up mulling things over on the swings. I was damn confused, to say the least.

I mean, he was looking for me… who else would have created such a poster? But did that mean he missed me as me or me as a future investment?

"No duh," I muttered, hopping from the swing to pace back and forth, "There's no question there. But-"

I snarled and glared at the sheet. After checking the Pokémon centre billboard as well as every other place I passed on my early morning walk, I had been reassured that the damn thing hadn't been spread around yet. But, from the photocopied quality of the poster I held, I could tell that this wasn't the master copy. I could just see my father hunched over the post office photocopier, looking terribly out of place as he fed ten pence pieces into the slot. What should have been pretty damn funny seemed morbid under these particular circumstances. My name and face would soon be pasted everywhere! I had to do something about it!

"But what the hell _can_ I do?!" I exclaimed furiously, throwing my hands up in the air and accidentally dislodging one of the three Pokéballs clipped to my waist.

I tried instinctively to catch it, but the ball slipped from my fingers and bounced on the ground, bursting open and spilling red light from its centre. I opened my mouth to swear at my bad luck as a small, eight-legged creature formed in the dirt but shut up as a piercing cry split the air.

"Huuuuuuumaaaaaaan!"

"Arina, stop!" I demanded as she dashed away towards a small gap in the wire fencing that surrounded the playground.

That curse finally reached physical status as I dashed out the gate and swung around to cut her off. The obnoxious arachnid had already wriggled through and was racing straight down the middle of the road, I realised to my dismay as I dashed after her. Apparently coordination was no problem as she sped down the streets like a bullet, eight legs pummelling the ground as though she were fleeing some sort of demon.

_"Go a**way**!"_ she cried as I accelerated into a full sprint, hoping to catch her before she made any trouble.

I was gaining, I realised with a savage grin. No bloody spider was going to outrun me! I bent slightly, so that I was just on the edge of my balance, in preparation to dive forward and grab her when Arina swerved a sharp left, careening into an alleyway. Caught entirely by surprise I overshot, tripping over my own toes and grabbing at the smooth stone of a wall, bashing my nose against it as I attempted to slow myself down.

Rubbing my injured face, I stalked back to the alley in question, Pokéball in hand and eyes blazing fury.

"Look, you spineless Spinarak, either you get back here or I'll…."

I trailed off, staring at the sight down the alleyway. A girl of about my age was backed up against the left wall, crouched defensively with her long blonde hair getting into her defiant brown eyes. Three men stood encircling her, their postures oozing sinister intention and their balaclavas meaning business. But what mattered most to me, at that very moment, was the fifth figure; a woman who stood a tad shorter than me and held up the struggling shape of a certain spider between thumb and forefinger.

"I suppose this is yours," she commented dryly, her voice muffled through her dark green balaclava but still obviously youthful.

"Yeah, I suppose she is," I responded slowly, uncertain as to how to act. In Malmarsh I would have gone for them straight away, but I had no idea how strong Goldenrod criminals might be and no home nearby to run back to if I messed up.

"Shame," she murmured apathetically, before tossing Arina to the nearest man.

He reacted instantly, drawing her back in one meaty hand with eyes narrowed at the wall, but he wasn't he only one with quick reactions. Before the thug of a man could smash Arina to bits I charged forwards, grabbing his wrist from the air and forcing it down. With a yelp of surprise he released Arina, allowing me to pull his arm back so far his knees buckled and he tripped over my leg, just missing his haughty female superior. The woman in question scowled, ordering the other two to get rid of me as she strode over to the girl and shoved her up against the wall, demanding something from her in angry tones.

The ally was narrow, but I was used to this sort of thing after taking on similar situations prior to this event. Due to their size, my opponents were going to suffer a lot worse than I from the claustrophobic surroundings. Still, I stepped back as the two of them came towards me, shoulder to shoulder. One of them was rubbing his hands together in a greedy "what fun" manner but the other betrayed no emotion through his actions. It wasn't hard to tell which one would be worth paying that extra bit of attention to.

Striking as hard as I could, I lashed out solidly at the overconfident man and caught him in the sternum before he could do anything to stop me. But hell! That hurt! What was he, made of steel?! While I was slowed by shock, the other man closed in behind me, one fist thrusting into my side like a piston before I realised what was happening. I yelped, spinning to face him instead, but the first guy caught me in the face with a bludgeoning blow as I moved. Red hot pain lanced through my chin and cheek and I gasped, just barely avoiding yet another strike as I staggered back into the wall. Either these guys were bloody good or I was… I was…

'L-losing?'

But why?! As I moved to dodge a powerful kick I tripped straight over the extended arm of the man I'd thrown onto the ground; he latched onto my ankle and down I went, all knowledge of how to fall deserting me as I crashed to the ground. I heard a scream and rolled, yet again just in the nick of time as a foot barely missed my head.

_'How is this happening?'_ I despaired mentally as I was thrown between the two men and their previously grounded companion like a limp rag.

I couldn't even think of how to string together an attack, despite the fact that I had gone through the basic routines but half an hour before. And here I was, my nose streaming, temple stinging and mind reeling, unable to so much as throw a punch.

_'Looks like I was right all along, father,'_ I thought dimly, _'I'm not going to be your champion fighter.'_

As if that defeatist little thought had woken up his all-pervading presence in my head, Brutus Thomas' voice leapt into action, laughing darkly.

Now then Raven, if I've told you once, I've told you a **million** times… NEVER GIVE UP. Keep your eyes on your opponent, find that weak spot…

Despite the weariness in my muscles, his guidance acted much like a switch in my mind, forcing my limbs to carry me out of harm's reach and into a position in which I could see them all without turning my head. The guy who I'd thrown was favouring his left leg, I realised, and the cold, professional man had wrenched his wrist throwing a punch, if the way he flexed the joint experimentally was anything to go by. The third and largest fighter still had that swagger in his step but his breathing was kept light: apparently that early blow to the sternum had done more than just injure my hand.

_Now beat back the two weaker opponents, before concentrating on the strongest._

Taking quick inventory of myself, I found that I had just about enough strength left in me to pull off such a stunt. It might be a long shot — my head, chest and neck were already aching and my breath was coming in great gasps — but I might… maybe I could…

Bah, forget the maybes. Gathering my remaining reserves and promising my aches and pains a hot shower when Arina and I got back to the Pokémon centre, I forced myself to strike quickly and accurately, kneeing the slowest man sharply into the gut and causing him to double up in pain. The second proved more difficult: he danced around my first punch and barely missed the bridge of my nose as his quick retaliation strike went a bit too high.

Focus, it's not hard.

Clenching my jaw I jabbed at him twice in quick succession, wincing almost as much as he did as my fist struck his bruised chest. He wasn't as close to out as his companion was, but I grabbed what time I had and spun to focus my attention on the more professional fighter who I'd accidentally let get behind me while I pushed the offensive on the other two.

My attempt to land the first hit as I turned was doomed to fail, however, as he was already doing the same thing. Absolute agony ripped through my right arm to the shoulder as our knuckles collided with a mighty crack. I bit down hard on my lip until I drew blood, forced to draw back and waste precious time as the pain numbed my right arm._Concentrate, Raven…ignore the pain, use your left fist or feet and take him out._

_'Erm, how about not,'_ I nearly refused out loud, knocking full well that I was about as good as fighting with my left than Raijin was at admitting he was wrong.

Besides, the pain was making me nauseous

Apparently that didn't apply to my opponent, however, as he leapt back into the offensive after only a second' hesitation. His knuckles had actually split on the fist that had collided with mine but he seemed indifferent to the fact, his grey eyes narrowed in the slits in his balaclava as he powered the left forward and repeated the action with the right as I dodged the first blow. The second smacked me right below the ribcage, driving all the air from my lungs as I staggered back against the wall, grabbing a nearby bin to regain my balance as Arina scuttled out from beneath it.

Use the terrain!

Unthinkingly (which was fortunate, I wouldn't have considered such underhanded tactics normally as I wasn't really a street fighter as such), I snatched the silver metal lid from the bin I was leaning on and smashed it into the side of the other guy's head with all my might.

He staggered, for a second looking nothing more than simply confused, before his eyes rolled up in his head and his legs gave way beneath him. I stared at his fallen form, dropping the lid and gasping painfully as the woman ringleader released the shirt front of the girl with a snarl of "she hasn't got it." Ordering the other men to pick up their fallen comrade, she gave me a parting glance of curiosity before all four of them disappeared.

I crumpled.

Barely aware of the other female as she flopped against the wall opposite, I leant my head back and simply breathed.

'That wasn't me,' I knew all too well, _'It… was him. I can't fight without his goddamn help!'_

' I knew all too well, 

The truth was quite crippling; especially as it hadn't seemed to effect me during the brief fight in Beechgrove forest. Maybe it was time… maybe his advice was still fairly fresh in my mind at that point.

Squeezing my eyes shut for a moment, I forced the roar of all the different questions to quiet down and snatched Arina's Pokéball from where it had ended up at my feet. Opening one eye just enough to see her dark eyes peeping out at me from beneath a skip across the alley, I returned her before she come make another race for freedom. My head ached.

"Uh, hey…" came an uncertain voice from overhead.

Tilting my face up to look up at the girl I'd 'accidentally' saved, I found her peering down at me with a concerned expression. Her blonde hair, jaggedly cut, had a black streak down the left side that she'd shoved behind one ear and her dark, almost black, eyes blinked at me with a slightly guilty glint to them.

"Are you… alright?"

I gave a noncommittal grunt and accepted a helping hand to get me to my feet, snapping Arina's Pokéball to my belt in the process. Now standing up, I saw that the other girl was slightly taller than me and had a willowy frame that made me look even more brick-shaped than ever.

With I sigh I assured her, "Yeah, I'm okay."

She smiled with relief, although I noticed her eyes were still showing signs of nervousness.

"My name's Karen," she informed me by means of introduction, "Yours?"

I hesitated for a second before raising and lowering one shoulder experimentally.

"Raven," I said simply before my curiosity got the better of me, "D'you often mix with that sort?"

Karen's lip curled with distaste, "No, not really… Look, I think I owe you one for what you did just then. My family's well off so… well, name your price."

I stared, feeling my jaw go slack but finding myself incapable of snapping it back into place.

"You want to _pay_ me?" I demanded incredulously, not sure whether this was a blessing or a way of practically whoring myself.

She took a step back and held up her hands in means of apology.

"Gawd, sorry, did I offend you?" she back-peddled quickly, "I didn't mean it to sound like I thought you were poor or anything, but you're obviously a traveller with _that_ accent and I know how stressful the road is and the Holodome just reels in the money and you did help me out so I thought-"

I was my turn to hold up my hands, cutting her off with a quick, "No, no, you didn't offend me; I was just a bit… surprised."

That same relieved expression settled over her face as Karen and I stepped out of the alley and into the street, just in time for the sunlight to spill over the roofs of the buildings behind us and set the windows across the road alight. Wincing as the brightness seared my retinas and caused my head to throb even more painfully, I raised my throbbing right hand to shield my eyes.

"What is a "Holodrome", anyway?" I inquired, suddenly realising that part of her outburst was a mystery to me as we wandered back towards the central parts of the city.

A smile of sheer pride settled on Karen's face at the mention of the Holodrome despite the rather traumatic events of minutes ago, only to be quickly replaced by one of surprise.

"You must be from far away," she exclaimed, eyes wide, "The Holodrome is THE biggest thing at the moment."

When my gaze remained blank she shook her head disbelievingly and started to explain.

"It's my mother and father's creation, based on a dream of mine. There are plenty of people who simply can't go on a Pokémon journey, due to age, disabilities, lack of funds, lack of determination…" her eyes shifted guiltily to the ground at that last reason but she quickly covered it up, "Anyway, we decided that everyone should at least be able to fight Pokémon battles, even if they don't have the strength of character or whatever to train them. So we created the 'Dome, a place where you can hire, purchase and train holographic Pokémon."

Holograms? The thought struck me as strange, perhaps even wrong, but I kept my lips sealed shut as she continued on.

"It means that you don't have to tackle personality clashes either," the girl was saying excitedly, "If your Pokémon's too arrogant, shy, foolish... whatever! You can just modify it to make things easier. Say," she stopped, grinning at what she obviously thought was the most tremendous and gobsmackingly amazing idea in the world, "How about I show you, give you a go?"

To tell the truth, I was feeling pretty uneasy on the inside. Although there were (many) times when I had to fight the burning desire to rip Raijin's ego right out of his head and stomp on it a few times, having an emotionally blank _thing _fight in his place sounded entirely wrong. But the few manners I had made it impossible for me to just say no to Karen's offer, she was trying to be nice, after all.

A simple nod set our course through the city but I didn't take in much of the surroundings, just doing my best to time my "ah" and "yes, of course" responses correctly as Karen babbled along beside me like a cheery little brook. My head was aching particularly badly now but the pain in my arm was letting up so I simply concentrated on walking through the slowly growing crowd of businesspeople as they set out to work.

We followed a number of small but busy roads before suddenly hanging a right that brought us out into what must have been the main street. With four lanes for cars, two lanes for buses, tram tracks running down the central island and casinos, cinemas and other such entertainment features lining the extra-wide pavement I could only wince at the thought of this place at night time. I absolutely abhorred neon lights and large crowds.

Still, we trundled along the pavement, passing a huge clock on the face of a towering hotel skyscraper.

"Seven-thirty-five in the morning," I mumbled, just as Karen stopped abruptly in front of a particularly strange structure.

Stumbling to avoid walking straight into the other girl, I peered up at the massive dome that squatted between the bulk of a twelve-screen cinema and a block of foreign restaurants. Perfectly symmetrical, it was mostly dark grey aside from the gleaming silver supports that arched but a foot over its surface and the round-roofed porch that housed twin glass doors.

"This is it," Karen told me, strolling confidently over to the doors while saying, "It's closed at the moment, so we'll get the place to ourselves."

She tapped in some sort of security code as I stared up at the great metal dome sceptically, suddenly and totally randomly wishing I had Hades or Polienix at my side.

'Soulless Pokémon,' my conscience whined, something I swatted at lamely with the retort, _'Soulless **machines**, doofus.'_

my conscience whined, something I swatted at lamely with the retort, 

"Well, come on!" Karen encouraged, obviously overjoyed at the opportunity to show off her family's masterpiece, "What're you waiting for?"

Tugging at my wrist, a physical contact I would have felt more comfortable without, she shepherded me into a massive arena just as partitions that had previously separated the area into portions slid away into the walls almost noiselessly. The place was huge and quite badly lit, but as Karen detached some sort of gadget from the wall the air right in front of me buzzed and, slowly but surely, started to change colour.

I stepped back in bewilderment as a simulated forest appeared out of nothing, filling the chamber until I could no longer see the unsightly grey steel through layers of foliage and a pale blue sky beyond that. Seeing my look of amazement, Karen stepped up beside me, two purple things in her hands.

"You wanna catch something, or just battle?" she asked with a grin, almost daring me to test the generator's capabilities, "I swear it'll be just as good as anything real."

"How about we just battle, I have to do enough groping through long grass as it is," I confided, using the excuse to avoid staying in the building for too long.

The steady whir of heavy machinery started up in the walls and floor once again as Karen handed me a purple device. Slightly longer than the length of my hand from wrist to fingertip, it had a rectangular central screen set into the plastic. Coming of from that were two grips, one housing a directional stick and pad while the other contained enter and cancel buttons and two others whose font I couldn't read in the green light of the forest simulation.

Glancing up from my inspection of the gadget I found that two regulation trainer's platforms were rising from the floor; Karen had already latched onto the top rung of the ladder leading up to one of them and was allowing it to carry her to the top with the ease of a practiced gym leader. Not wasting any time, I jogged over to the other one and started to climb, keeping the screen in my injured right hand as I climbed up and over onto the platform.

They shuddered to a stop in unison, leaving the two of us facing over a swiftly morphing landscape. Although it still held traits of the original, the new environment looked like someone had cut a massive square out of the trees and foliage, leaving an uneven field with the occasional tree stump protruding from the ground. Although they were faint, I could just make out the boundary markings of a proper battling stage.

"Choose your Pokémon," intoned the infuriatingly steady and calm voice of a computer.

Instantly the screen I held lit up, presenting me with a Pokédex-style list of _every_ Pokémon I could ever want. My former inhibitions drizzled away sulkily as I felt myself being won over by the sight of all these creatures: from Spearow and Scyther from Kanto to Typhlosion and Tyranitar from Johto, Cacnea and Castform from Hoenn to Moloch and Monswoon from Metone… even Magcat and Meren from my home continent of Janera.

Bloody trainer Nirvana! They were all on level one hundred!

Hungrily I snapped up Salamance, Rhydon and Penagma, the sheer power of the three winning me over easily. Across the arena Karen grinned and, with the press of the enter button on my controller, the draconic bulk of Salamance fazed into being in front of me just as a huge sea creature appeared opposite. Opening its gaping mouth and revealing the full length of two massive tusks, the Walrein let out a long, powerful bellow that caused the blue and white flesh all along its back and sides to vibrate with sound.

"Advantage to player one," the computer quipped coolly as I cursed my bad luck.

"Fight."

I barely had time to see that the contents of my screen had changed once again, now displaying a list of four moves: fly, flamethrower, dragon claw and slash.

"Walrein, Aurora beam!" Karen ordered, stabbing at the air with one fist.

I panicked as the walrus Pokémon threw back its hairy white head.

"Fly!" I called to Salamance.

With a downward stroke of its sail-like crimson wings, my dragon launched its grey-blue form into the air and soared high into the simulated sky of the arena. The swirling greens and blues of Walrein's beam burst passed it, just missing Salamance's tail as the dragon let out a thunderous roar and plummeted like a stone towards its enemy.

"Blizzard!" came the order for a retaliation strike as Salamance smacked Walrein over with one massive shoulder.

To my dismay, the simulation didn't seem to need the sort of concentration Pol required to summon ice and snow. Sheets of white and blue tore through the air and battered Salamance's side, frost blossoms unfurling over its scaly holographic flesh as it bellowed and landed with a crash.

"Flamethrower!" I cried as it picked itself up, looking beaten.

Long white claws digging into the 'earth', the draconic creature lashed its long tail and threw forwards its head, releasing a roaring column of flame that leapt hungrily through the air to lick at Walrein's blubbery sides.

"Walrein!" Karen cried as her hologram got quite singed, "HYDRO PUMP!"

It was suddenly as though Salamance's attack wasn't wounding it — Walrein simply inflated its huge chest and let rip with a torrent of high-pressure water. The liquid barrelled into Salamance before I could call a counter-order, lifting the huge beast clear off the ground and hurling it into the base of my trainer's platform. Out of instinct I snatched hold of the railing and braced myself for impact, but no angry vibrations shook my dais. In the heat of the action I'd forgotten that these were holographic images, not real living creatures. I breathed a sigh of relief even though I'd just lost the round.

"Trainer one, choose your Pokémon."

At the computer's emotionless request, Karen selected something else and the blue bulk of the Hoenn-originating Pokémon shifted into a plated monster. Its thick tail beating the floor, the dark blue coloured creature let out a roar just as threatening as that of Salamance. It stood on two clawed feet, with a bulky body complete with tan armour over the breasts and abdomen. Two large, rounded ears protruded from the top of its massive head, behind a stubby horn that sat in the middle of its forehead. According to my screen, this was the poison and ground type Nidoqueen.

I didn't have any Pokémon with advantages, but I found myself hesitant to send out a fire type against this brute. So I quickly selected Rhydon, and its grey plated body quickly replaced the fallen shape of Salamance. I noticed with glee that its spiralling horn and long, segmented tail made my Pokémon bigger than hers. It knew only moves relevant to its type and build — earthquake, body slam, takedown and horn attack — so no hope of confusing Karen with a surprise Surf, however.

"No advantage," decided the computer, "Fight."

This time I leapt for the first attack, ordering Rhydon to smash Nidoqueen's head in with takedown. It launched itself into a charge, huge clawed feet throwing up clods of holographic earth in its hurry. But Nidoqueen reacted quickly, lowering its powerful shoulders and meeting Rhydon half way without even being ordered. I frowned at this; did that thing have artificial intelligence?!

AI or no, Nidoqueen met Rhydon with a smash and the two of them quickly locked arms, struggling to shove one another over. The two holograms strained, grunting with heads lowered, as Karen and I watched from the side. Finally she growled, calling out to her combatant.

"Thyat! Pull back and use body slam!"

The Nidoqueen did as it was told, giving a last hard shove before ducking back out of Rhydon's embrace. The other Pokémon stumbled a bit, suddenly finding that it was pushing against nothing, and 'Thyat' took its chance, attempting to slam Rhydon into the ground.

"Horn attack!" I ordered quickly, only glancing down at the screen for a second.

Instantly Rhydon's horn started to rotate, escalating into a fast spin. With one thrust of its slab-like head it thrust the gyratory weapon into Nidoqueen's defenceless stomach, sending the massive Pokémon screaming back in pain.

"Alright, Nidoqueen," I couldn't help but notice a glint of respect in her eyes despite the superior tone to her voice, "**FISSURE**!"

"Shit," I said in amazement, perfectly aware of the power of that attack.

Of course Rhydon didn't appear scared in the least; its holographic body stood in the same relaxed position as before even as the ground started to strain beneath Nidoqueen. Throwing its head back, the ground type let out an ear-splitting cry as unearthly blue light flickered over it, pooling in the pits of its eye sockets as hairline cracks opened up around its feet. With a final grunt it brought its whole left leg up into the air, causing its body to waver on the edge of its balance, before mashing its giant claws downwards.

A last-hope strategy flickered into my head as a gaping chasm shot through the ground towards my oblivious Rhydon.

"Rhydon, run to the left!" I ordered, my voice cracking involuntarily.

To my chagrin, the hologram failed to respond and, in that second of stillness, was caught directly in Nidoqueen's attack.

"What the **HELL**?!" I screamed as Rhydon finally responded to its enemy's attack, letting out one last cry before being swallowed by the abyss.

"Trainer one victorious," the computer announced as the programme deactivated, leaving Karen and I alone in the empty arena.

"What the hell was that?!" I repeated angrily, "I gave it an order!"

Karen gave me an apologetic look, "Yeah, but not one it was designed to follow… these aren't real Pokémon, y'know."

"Oh, I know all right," my rant continued savagely, "You don't see real creatures staring pain in the teeth and just sitting there, do you? But these are the weakling's alternative, aren't they? I mean, why make anything into a challenge when you can have a mindless battling _drone?_"

With that I broke into a run, ignoring Karen's yell for me to come back as I headed for the exit. I wanted out, out as soon as bloody possible.

"Woah, watch out there!"

I skidded to a halt just feet away from a tall, lean man who had just come through the sliding doors. With a dark complexion and straight, shoulder-length, black hair he held up his hands defensively, one eyebrow raised as he stared at my red faced visage. Lowering his hands, the man straightened the dark blue blazer of his suit and shot Karen a look.

"What have I told you about bringing friends in here early on?" he demanded of the girl as she latched onto my wrist from behind.

"Ah, dad, she's not really one of my friends," the blonde explained, "It's just I couldn't sleep again so I went for a walk and-"

"You stumbled into those thugs again," her father finished, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Uh, yeah," she responded sheepishly, "But Raven here beat 'em back. It was pretty cool."

His dark eyes flicked back to me again but I made no attempt to even look friendly, amber eyes narrowed and fists clenched tight as I glared at him furiously. To my surprise, however, he simply chuckled.

"I suppose I owe you a thank you," he commented, inclining his head a tad before one hand disappeared into his pocket.

"Here, take this," he held out a card of some sort, gesturing for me to take it with a glance at the few Pokéballs at my waist, "I know how trainers can fall on rough times."

My rage rising even further, I slapped his hand away furiously.

"I don't take charity!" I snarled, easily detaching Karen from my wrist and shoving past her father before escaping out through the glass doors.

As I stalked out into Goldenrod and the chill of morning air, the same sequence played through my head repeatedly: Pol, Hades, even Raijin or Arina struck dumb in the path of a gaping fissure of oblivion. Like a huge snake of death, it sped towards my Pokémon while they stood frozen in place, fear showing in their eyes.

And I knew nothing I could say could help them.

HR>

Ah, yes, a disclaimer:

Metone, Moloch and Monswoon belong to Topaz Soarhire, damn awesome writer of On the Wings of Council. Read it. Read it NOW.

Thyat is a name taken from Tamora Pierce's Tortal books. It was the name of the strongest Nidoqueen I ever raised (Marauder can back me up on that one) but it's still not mine. So meh.

Finally, Matilda is a robot from Robot Wars. She's similar to a purple rhino and attacks things with her brutal saw tail. I leave it to you to figure out the relevence of that to this chapter.


	13. Aluminium

w00t w00t! Sorry, I'm kinda hyper about finally finishing this chapter. The beginning may be normal and kinda boring, but I assure you that it won'tstay that way... ((demon grin))

Warnings for this chapter: Violence, about three uses of bad language, arrogance condensed in draconic form and the hell pit that is the shopping centre. Be afraid... XD

**Raven: Emerald Fist  
Mechyena Saga**

by **O**bsidian **B**lade

**Chapter XIII: Aluminium**

_A shape slunk through the shadows, sliding from alley to alley. Despite its hatred of creeping, the creature was undeniably good at it despite its hulking size. Keeping out of the sunlight and plain view it kept its scarred hide masked by the darkness as it pressed on. This time it would ignore the bloodlust. This time it would succeed. _

ooo

By the time I arrived back at our room Jay had already left on his own excursions. My brain was still hissing and spitting furiously as I collapsed onto my bed but I did my best to block it out for the moment. There were, in my opinion, more important things to tend to.

Reaching for the bedside table I dropped Arina's Pokéball into the top drawer with the others and lifted my Pokédex out from beneath them. The sleek silver machine contained a few things worth knowing, including information on being a trainer. I needed to know if there was a way I could resist my father's search.

For the next hour I peered at the small screen, pent up frustration ebbing and flowing like the tide as I snatched at solutions, only to find that they wouldn't work for my situation. I wasn't too good at this intellectual stuff, I realised as I reread a line of text four times over. My schooling wasn't first class to start with and, admittedly, my lack of enthusiasm in all classes but the three sciences and games had not helped in the least. My undisciplined eye had so far uncovered only one thing relating to the peculiar circumstances I was in… and that was the simple fact that all aspiring trainers under the age of eighteen require their parent's permission to start their journey. Ouch.

It was an off putting fact and I soon found myself skipping whole paragraphs in my need for some sort of rule that would redeem my case as legitimate. My eyes skipped across the text as I scrolled further and further down, searching doggedly until my gaze halted at the words "Trainer Confidentiality" in bold print.

I don't know why that particular phrase caught my attention, as I definitely did not know what it meant, but for some reason it did and I read on. The more I read, the more my mood lightened. I was no academic but I did know someone who was…

An hour and a half later I hit the streets once again as a particularly long e-mail travelled through cyber-space towards the professor who had granted me trainership. It would be my first time communicating with Professor Darkwood - he had left Olivine before I recovered from my first brush with Mechyena so I had failed to get to know him - and he had an awful lot of reading on his hands as a result. At least I felt better, anyway.

Studying the faces of the people I passed as I walked along, I nodded at what I assumed were the correct places as Polienix, perched in her usual place on my shoulder, babbled incessantly into my ear. Her wounds from the battle with Omela healed by a Chansey's expert ministrations, Pol was stuck in full cheery bird mode and my eardrums were feeling the repercussions.

_"So, where're we going, anyway?" _she asked suddenly, catching me momentarily unawares with a question that needed more than a yes or no answer.

"I figured we could check out the gym," I responded, thankful for my quick recovery time, "And then go back to the Pokémon centre to check if Darkwood's gotten back to me. After that we can go get some lunch, 'kay?"

Food seemed to be quite a good distraction at the time, but Polienix's brow furrowed nonetheless.

"What d'you wanna talk to him about, again?" she inquired, head cocked to one side.

"Um," I hesitated for a second, on the verge of simply telling her outright, before finishing lamely, "Stuff."

"Oh."

She went silent for a few minutes after that, something I disliked even more than her banter as it suggested she was doing some serious thinking, but was back to her old chattering self by the time we reached the shiny glass doors of the Goldenrod gym. Framed by twin fluted columns of pale stone, the building was extremely plain in design. In fact, it was little more than a squat cream coloured box with sliding doors stuck awkwardly into the front. A basket of pale pink flowers sat in the middle of the entrance: a tentative attempt at colour.

Stepping further inside, I found myself in a sort of waiting area. Falkner apparently hadn't thought one necessary, but this place was full of trainers and their Pokémon. Some sat on the white sofas that lined the walls and sliced the space into isles while still more leant against walls or stood in groups. Quite a few of them seemed perfectly used to this sort of crowded chaos, although some others, like me, were looking around in disbelief. With such a large city, I suppose I should have expected so many people to be here.

Apparently unfazed by the clamour of voices, Polienix peered around with the curiosity characteristic of a child.

"There're a lot of fighting types," she said finally, _"Maybe the gym leader has Pokémon weak to them?"_

she said finally, 

My head snapped around so fast that my annoyingly long ponytail snapped across my face. Ignoring it, I gaped at Pol.

"…Okay," I forced out, "I wasn't expecting that."

Her expression was full of modesty as she responded, _"But I don't know what's weak to fighting type."_

"Normal type."

With so many faces in the crowd, it took me a second to locate the speaker. The fact that he stuck out like a sore thumb helped the search somewhat: his straight silver hair, pulled back tightly into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck, framed a pale, angular face and his eyes, narrow and oriental in shape, stared out at me with a look of icy indifference.

"The whole gym is full of them; plain, boring normal types that no one else would give a second glance," he gave a resentful snort, "I certainly wouldn't, anyway."

"Why?" inquired the bird on my shoulder, _"Aren't they Pokémon like the rest of us?"_

inquired the bird on my shoulder, 

He flared his nostrils, the action causing the light to shine through the skin and light up his face into what was almost beauty for a second, before leaning back in his seat and pointedly in the opposite direction. Conversation over.

Raising one eyebrow, I gave him one last glance before heading over to a plaque set into the wall. It took some forceful shoving to get to it, but once there I found myself looking at a predictably simple slab of pale rock. Engraved with the words "Goldenrod Gym, Plain Badge" at the top with a picture of a diamond beneath the title, it went on to list the names of leaders up until the present one.

"Whitney," I snorted, "A plain name for a plain trainer."

Unfortunately there wasn't a list of victors present so I couldn't judge her battling skills just yet. That could wait until tomorrow - I had already experienced my fair share of action for one day.

I left the gym with my nose buried in my Pokédex as I looked up the weaknesses and strengths of the normal type, Polienix back to her happy jabbering once again.

'Good against rock and steel, useless against ghost… Weak against fighting but ghost can't hurt 'em…' I mused as I walked, _'That guy was right; a Pokémon type that's only good against two other types isn't going to much good in battle.'_

I mused as I walked, 

I glanced at Polienix, who was currently blathering away about her great aunt fighting a Salamance.

'But don't let her know you think that.'

ooo

So close, so close…

In the shadows of an alleyway, the shape withdrew until its terrifying bulk was hidden almost entirely by the thick metal of an abandoned skip. It had been empty, once upon a time, but had since found itself the victim of the Goldenrod nightlife. Now it reeked of urine, vomit and several other things the beast hadn't encountered before, and the powerful scents were making it difficult to continue to track its quarry.

But for now, that was a good thing. It needed a while to calm down, to gain its senses. The blood thirst implanted into its mind could be useful at times, but now it was interfering with its duty. The Master had told it to scout… to **scout**. It had to constantly remind itself of the fact as it practically brushed shoulders with the vulnerable humans that populated this city.

Peering out from behind the skip, Mechyena's scarlet eyes blinked, once, as a familiar shape walked right past the entrance to his alley. The scent was clear, even with the interference of all the other smells, and it slowly dawned on him that perhaps he had simply overshot rather than fallen behind. And that scent…

He dug his massive silver claws into the pavement. To **scout**.

ooo

Although I received a vaguely annoyed look from the maid as I skirted around her and nipped into the room, none of authorities in the Pokémon centre challenged the fact that I still hadn't left after noon. I was glad, Jay was still gone and I had no desire to be forced to cart all of our combined belongings outside on my own.

Polienix glided from my shoulder to the windowsill the instant the door was shut behind us, turning her head nearly one hundred and eighty degrees to dig her sharp yellow beck into her soft, downy feathers. I flinched as she started to violently yank the thin shafts from her own back and wings, but Pol apparently felt no pain. Trying not to think about the feathers that quickly littered the floor; I left her to her preening. Perhaps she was shedding, or whatever young birds did. Either way, it kept her quiet.

Pulling my revered 'Dex out of my pocket once again, I connected it to e-mail. It was a good thing that the process could be explained as "bunging the phone-connecting-thingy into the slot-thingy at the back" as I was hardly a pro at technology. To my surprise, after finally managing to navigate a maze of screens I found that I already had a reply to my previous message. Darkwood was good… either that or just short of a social life.

"Probably the latter," I muttered gloomily as I realised his reply contained words with more syllables than I had fingers on one hand.

It took half an hour of deciphering and guesswork before I had pieced together a basic understanding of what the professor was trying to say, a time in which Polienix had rid herself of more feathers than I thought she had on her body. She was now staring out of the window glumly, inquiring every thirty seconds or though as to my progress so far. Finally I could give her the reply she wanted.

"Let's go."

Pol gave a peep of joy, _"Finally!"_ she chirped, _"I was getting so bored…"_

Feeling in much better spirits, I actually smirked at her complaints. What Darkwood had suggested was simple: lie low. His other comment was that I might just want to look a little different, cut my hair, change my clothes, perhaps even use a different last name… He hadn't said that I should do so, of course, but a harmless little comment could lead to bigger things sometimes. It was just one of those things that… happened. One of those things that happened even easier when a _small_ amount of money changed hands.

Yes, only I could land myself with the dodgy professor. Call it a talent.

I hit the streets once again before Nurse Joy or one of her assistants could raise the issue of getting me out of the room. Doing something that wasn't exactly within the limits of the law had suffused me with an air of arrogance; something that I soon realised was actually making me swagger as I pushed past the people on the streets. I did not stop myself. In fact, I felt like screaming "I have contacts and you don't!" at the top of my lungs. That urge I managed to dampen, but an ugly smirk had glued itself to my face at the knowledge. Exhilarated at breaking the law. Interesting.

_"Oi, Ray, what's up with you?"_ a familiar voice enquired loudly.

I stopped and glanced to my left, where, over the roof of a parked car, I made out the wild blond hair of Jay and fiery orange plumage of Magenix as the two made their way across the road towards us. Stepping onto the pavement, my travelling partner looked me up and down with a sceptical expression on his face.

"It's hard to tell," he concluded, "If you look like someone who has just won the lottery or someone who's stolen the winnings. Care to enlighten me?"

I rolled my eyes, "What do _you_ think? I am a trainer, after all."

Internally I glowed with praise for my ingeniousness. He would just think I'd won a few battles, unaware that, in fact, I'd just received enough cash from my sponsor to get myself a brand new outfit and a much-needed haircut. I didn't even have to lie.

But Jay let out a sigh, "Raven, the lottery _is_ for charity. Have a little respect."

For a split second I thought he was being as serious as always, but one look at the smile on his face said otherwise.

"So, how much?" he asked, unaware of the source of confusion on Polienix's face.

She was, of course, perfectly aware that I hadn't done a bit of battling today. Well, excluding the interlude with Karen's monstrosities, something I wasn't willing to share with anyone. Ignoring the way her talons tightened around my shoulder, I danced around Jay's question once again as I realised that I wasn't sure of the exact amount.

"Enough."

The reply was vague and arrogantly uncaring; probably a decent mimic of myself after a few wins. Jay bought it, anyway, even if an odd niggle at the corner of my mind alerted me to Polienix's psychic presence. Hoping against all hopes that she wouldn't uncover the source of my odd behaviour, I felt my arrogance slip away as we continued along into the pedestrianised area of town. Even though I would still be riding the perverse joy of rebelliousness if I were back home at Malmarsh, something about keeping things from my starting Pokémon was making me feel awful.

Trying to keep these thoughts buried as deep into my consciousness as possible while still maintaining the illusion of pleased pride, I led the way up to the famous Goldenrod department store and, hoping that some aggravating shopping would divert my attention from more important matters, strolled inside.

The shop was some sort of controlled pandemonium, and it only earned the controlled part because of the general lack of spilt blood. The ceiling, quite low already, sported colourful sign after colourful sign directing shoppers to "trainer's market", "menswear", "drugstore" and other such places. Those people that didn't flock in the direction of the arrows crowded around racks of various different items, almost all of which sported red tags exclaiming for all the world to see that this was all on sale. There actually appeared to be some heated debate going on between shoppers as to who had seen which object first. And this was only a Thursday afternoon…

"Lead on, oh great one," Jay offered, seeming quite pleased to be able to slot in behind me and leave the navigation to someone else.

Both as horrified as each other at the general chaos that reigned supreme in this uncharted territory, we kept to the centre of the isle as we made our way towards the escalators. Buffeted by the flow of people, I just managed to catch the location of the female clothes section before we were swept by. No wonder my parents had always kept to the smaller shops back home.

After what felt like a lifetime of pushing, shoving and scrabbling at price tags I found myself standing in a communal changing room staring at my reflection. In fact, I was too scared to look anywhere else least I catch an unwanted glimpse of bared flesh. Aside from a gaggle of skiving schoolgirls who sneered out from one corner, quite unembarrassed when I caught them staring disgustedly at my muscle-bound form, the changing room was full of women taking advantage of their lunch break and I had somehow ended up stuck between two somewhat overweight women who jiggled in all the wrong places when they laughed at the comments they were passing between one another over my head. Blinking in confusion at what I thought was a remark about some sort of vegetable; I made the mistake of glancing to my left and was momentarily blinded.

My reflection. Right.

Aside from a beet-red face and straggly hair that now reached mid-back, I supposed I didn't look too bad. In a rush to cover myself up I'd accidentally put on two shirts - one of which I didn't even remember picking up. It was silver, with a scoop neckline that had a triangle of cloth removed from the front, and had sleeves that flared out at the ends and stopped just beyond my elbows. Nothing I would even consider wearing normally, but over the skin-tight, high-necked black shirt I had on underneath I liked it.

Trousers were more difficult - I would have stuck with the baggy blue jean shorts I had been through so much with but it was nearly winter and dropping temperatures made that impossible. Blue knees, as far as I knew, were not in fashion, so I eventually settled on a pair of loose blue jeans and a brown belt for my Pokéballs. Only one outfit wasn't exactly the most hygienic choice, but a check via my Pokédex had revealed that the Professor had not given me quite as much money as I had expected. I was not too keen on staying in that changing room for much longer, anyway, so I quickly changed back into my older clothes and set off determinedly in the direction of the counter. Shopping, I had realised, was all to do with forcefulness.

ooo

Mechyena was beyond peeved. Even when crouched in the darkest section of ally he could find near the department store, there were no conveniently placed skips around here. And the scent had been lost the minute his quarry had stepped through those sliding doors: so many humans made it impossible to track even such a well-known smell.

Even though he wasn't the brightest of creatures, Mech could see that it would be a while before he could resume his chase and lay down on his belly like any normal dog, heavy head rested on massive paws. Giving a dejected sigh, he waited.

ooo

"It doesn't suit you," I said firmly, my head held perfectly still as a brunette with a personality that was the absolute duplicate of Polienix's attacked my long locks with a pair of scissors.

"Really?" Jay responded, removing the brown cowboy hat from his head and giving it a long hard glare.

If it weren't for the fact that we were going to have to come face to face with Joy sometime soon I would have wondered why he was still sticking around. As it was, I would bet money that he just didn't want to be thrown out of the Pokémon centre on his own.

"Shame, I thought I'd really hit gold that ti- Raven, what the hell have you done!" he spluttered, finally looking at me long enough to see what was happening to my hair.

"Had my hair cut, perhaps?" I replied dryly, rolling my shoulders as the hairdresser finally released me from the chair.

"So short?"

"Your point?"

It was short, but not nearly as clipped as Jay's reaction would have made anybody believe. Rather than hanging from my head like a dead muskrat it was now shoulder length and doing its best to recover. To me it was a joy: heinously long ponytails were not particularly suitable for a Pokémon journey through the wilderness.

Paying the hairdresser with some of the last of my ill-earned cash, Jay and I climbed the dimly lit steps of the underground and up into Goldenrod. My stomach was grumbling hungrily so I scanned the row of buildings across the road, looking for a restaurant, just as a flash of charcoal fur thundered across my vision, tearing through the crowd as they stumbled out of the way.

"What the hell?" Jay exclaimed over the sounds of chaos as people sped away from what I assumed was some sort of animal.

There was a particularly loud scream as a girl coming out of the department store was hit head on by the stampeding beast, the impact throwing her off her feet and into the wall beside the glass sliding doors. Winded, she slid to the ground as the shaggy creature came to a stop right by her feet, its silver claws digging into the concrete steps as it bared sharp white teeth.

For a second my mind stayed numb, uncomprehending, as my amber eyes roved from the long black tail of the doglike beast to the metal cables, bars and other protrusions that glinted through its long, coarse coat. I swear my heart had stopped beating in my chest as I stared at the familiar crimson eyes, narrowed and bloodthirsty, that were thankfully aimed at some other unfortunate rather than me. But I couldn't stay in denial for long: the dark bubble of fear spread throughout my gut as a name surfaced in my mind.

Mechyena.

"What the hell is that thing doing!" Jay continued, his eyes stormy as he stared incredulously at the mechanised Pokémon past the few remaining people who, like me, had found their bodies unresponsive in face of their terror.

Mechyena was advancing, its nose wrinkled up in an awesome snarl as a dangerous growl emanated from its throat. It had risen out of its threatening crouch to tower over the winded girl, who looked up at it with horrified brown eyes as she gasped helplessly for breath.

'Karen,' I suddenly realised, _'Without her holographic slaves.'_

I suddenly realised, 

From the black streak through her long blonde hair to the sky blue shirt and khaki trousers she still wore I could tell it was true. But what could Mechyena possibly want from her? I had Polienix but…

Jay brought me out of the whirl of thoughts that caught me, hurling two red and white spheres in Mechyena's general direction. The street was now almost empty aside from a few faces peering out from the relative safety of doorsteps so there was no one to get in the way as the streamlined orange body of Magenix and holly leaf ears and lime green form of Fidranger materialized on the pale bricks of the road.

"What're you doing?" I choked out, looking over at my tawny haired companion in amazement.

His eyebrows drawn together in a frown of concentration, Jay responded tautly, "Saving her, of course. Magenix!" he continued, voice increasing in volume as he commanded his Pokémon, "Ember Mechyena! Fidranger, use your leech seed on it!"

Fidranger gave him a quizzical look over her shoulder before putting back her head and releasing a long, wailing howl. Beside the grass hound Magenix quickly formed a mouthful of flames, taking to the air to get closer to Mechyena before releasing the ball of fire directly into the creature's face. With a roar Mechyena spun around, powerful jaws just missing Magenix as he swooped overhead, only to be hit by a barrage of seeds that sank tiny roots deep into its coat.

"Well, help me out!" Jay snapped in my direction between orders for a vine whip and gust.

As the wind speed increased and the sound of a fleshy creeper snapping through the air assaulted my senses I finally nodded, realising that Mechyena definitely knew I was here now that it had turned around and also easily assuming that it could catch me if it so desired. Wincing with empathy as Fidranger let out a yelp while being propelled through the air via Mechyena's broad snout, my hand brushed over Polienix, Arina and Raijin's Pokéballs to latch onto that of Hades. As much as I would have liked to have Pol help out too, the circumstances of Articairion's death forced me to leave her where she was.

Instead the ever-loyal Houndour found himself facing the same creature that had beaten him near-senseless only weeks before. For a second I hesitated, wondering if perhaps I should have attempted to reason with Raijin, but Hades simply raised his ink-black hackles and prepared for battle.

Smiling at my Pokémon's tenacity despite the threat, I cried out, "Inferno crunch!"

Hades was only happy to leap into action, bounding past Fidranger as the Janeran Pokémon struggled to her feet and charging straight at Mechyena's furious face. Tongues of fire drizzling from his jaws, he launched himself at the larger dog, his stomach colliding with Mech's nose as flaming teeth bit down onto one organic ear. Emerald's abomination bellowed, shaking its head wildly as Hades raked at its blood-chilling eyes with short but tough silvery claws. Fearing a repetition of last time I ran to the right, yelling at Hades to let go before Mechyena forced him to. With one last burst of flame right against his enemy's head, Houndour released his grip and was sent flying into the air. His sturdy frame slammed into my chest, my arms instantly wrapping around his orange and black body, and for a second I found myself staring straight into the murderous eyes of Mechyena.

The staring contest was broken before it even started, however, as Magenix dived between us, halting himself with heavy flaps of his billowing wings and sending a mini twister whirling into the dog's head. The boisterous fire bird was about to give a whoop of battle-induced ecstasy when he suddenly found himself surrounded by a cloud of dark purple energy. Although it was difficult to see through the shroud of darkness, I could just make out Magenix's beak opening in a silent scream of pain as his pupils shrunk down to mere pinpoints. Beyond him Mechyena growled, that same crackling darkness pulsating around it as Polienix's brother convulsed in agony.

**"Shadow Ball,"** a Pokédex's voice chimed and, to my amazement, I found that Karen had regained her feet and was aiming a basic-looking machine at the fighters, **"Ghost type move. Power rating of 80. Technical Machine 30."**

I turned my attention away from the determined looking girl just as Magenix slumped to the floor, released from the ghost move but clearly fainted. Jay instantly sprang to his aid, glaring at Mechyena as he scooped his knocked out bird into his arms and held him securely to his chest. Mechyena hesitated and in the second it wasted a crack filled the air: Fidranger's supple vines flailing over its hindquarters as she gave a yap at the small victory. Gritting his teeth, Jay took his chance and ran, just as Mechyena spun around and knocked Fidranger flying once again. As I hauled myself up to my feet beside Jay, lowering Hades to the ground, his grass Pokémon slammed into the ground and laid still, her eyelids fluttering once before she went completely limp.

As two flashes of crimson light signified that both Magenix and Fidranger had been withdrawn, the powerful steel and dark type dog turned to face us, looking thoroughly pleased with itself even as Hades went into a crouch between us. I hesitated, sweat dribbling down my back as my hand hovered indecisively over the three remaining balls on my belt. I could see that Jay was now considering the same course of action as I was: we weren't _that _far from the steps to the department store… maybe we would be able to find safety somewhere in there, in a lift, perhaps.

As if it had read our thoughts, Mechyena suddenly shifted its muscular bulk so that it blocked the way between us and the sliding doors where Karen stood uncertainly. Suddenly I noticed that a familiar violet darkness was building up across the Pokémon's shoulders and, memories of Magenix's silent cry of pain resurfacing in my mind, I wasted no time in whipping out Houndour's Pokéball and returning him in a flash of light. My hands were actually shaking now: I had just removed our one barrier of defence, neither Jay nor myself wanting to force our other Pokémon to fight this beast, and now I wanted nothing more than to run, even though I knew full well that Mechyena could run me down in three bounds.

Suddenly I became aware of the fact that the ghostly energy coursing around Mechyena had changed - now it was light consuming black. I felt Jay's hand grab my forearm, probably to pull me away if I froze again, as Emerald's creation went down into a crouch for the third time.

"Faint attack," the boy croaked as muscles rippled beneath Mech's coat, "Never misses."

A wave of cold dread washed over me, drowning what I had previously thought counted as gut wrenching fear and leaving my whole body feeling icy cold. As my amber eyes widened, Mechyena seemed to loose consistency as it sprang.

"Go, Sevielle! Poison tail attack!"

The cry ripped through the air, followed by a blur of lithe, shiny black that whipped around its angular tail so that the scarlet blade that armed one side ripped into Mechyena's flank before the dog could fade out completely. It gave a yelp of surprise, thrown out of its attack as thick purple liquid dripped from the area in which it had been hit, and collided shoulder first with the brickwork of a building opposite.

Mechyena's assailant landed right in front of us, its obsidian black scales interrupted occasionally by circular golden protrusions that came at intervals along its long, serpentine body. Its crested head shifted from side to side warily, long red fangs already dripping some sort of foul poison, as its opponent rose to its paws. My fingers oddly numb, I groped for my Pokédex.

**"Seviper, the fang snake Pokémon. Seviper's sword like tail serves two purposes - it slashes foes and douses them with secreted poison. This Pokémon will not give up its long running blood feud with Zangoose,"** the mechanical voice droned as Karen, _Karen_ of all people, jabbed a finger in Mechyena's direction.

His hand still wrapped around my arm, Jay pulled me out of harm's reach as Sevielle the Seviper performed what Karen had called a "Poison Fang" attack, fangs as long as my forearm digging deep into an organic part of Mechyena. Snarling with pain it lashed out with one massive paw, smacking the giant snake across the head and detaching her from its side. She gave a warning hiss before lashing out with her tail, the flat of the blade catching the side of her our enemy's muzzle and sending it flinching back in pain.

"Crunch!" Karen ordered from the sidelines.

Sevielle opened her mouth wide, displaying her fangs to the full, before biting down into Mechyena's leg with a dark attack. Even though her attack drew blood, however, Mechyena didn't seem to be as badly affected as I had expected it to be. The claws on one paw toughened and glinted metallically before it ridded itself of the Seviper pest for the second time. Metal claws opening deep slashes in the snake's scaly hide, Mechyena grabbed its advantage as she fell back in pain and latched its jaws around her vulnerable body.

I felt the chill that had started to subside when Sevielle first appeared returning as she writhed in helpless pain, blood splattering the road from deep wounds as she caused Mechyena's teeth to dig deeper by striking repeatedly with tail and fangs.

"Oh gawd," Karen wailed, her waist noticeably free of any other Pokéballs, "If only I had the RealSpec…"

My mind instantly clicked: I didn't like this girl but Seviper had done nothing to me and Mechyena most certainly would if the snake was defeated. I didn't know exactly what she would do with the RealSpec but…

"You mean this?" I questioned, producing the small red and white object from my pocket where it had resided for most of the day.

Karen's eyes bugged at the sight, "Where did you…" but she cut herself off, "It doesn't matter! Throw it here!"

I did and, to my amazement, the blond girl pulled from her dark brown suede purse one of the purple handsets from the Holodrome, its glossy screen lighting up the minute she pressed the tiny RealSpec to the back, where it was held with a clink.

"Thyat, come on out," Karen commanded quietly, her previous look of dismay replaced by one of determination as her slender thumbs tapped commands into the machine.

As the familiar teal armoured creature was projected into the street, her holographic bulk catching Mechyena's attention long enough for it to stop shaking Sevielle like an abused stuffed toy, I stared at Karen incredulously.

"She's a _hologram_!" I exclaimed, "What on _earth_ do you expect something that's not even _real_ to do?"

Karen glanced down at me from her position on the steps just as the ovular contraption on the back of her handset lit up like a lantern. Jay and I released a collective gasp as pale lines of light sped across the Nidoqueen's hide, broadening to cover her in a web of light before retracting again to reveal the same Pokémon… only different. Her rock-hard plating now really _did_ look rock-hard and her emotionless eyes now held a liquid gleam.

"She's real enough," came the answer to my question as Mechyena dropped Sevielle to the ground to face this new threat.

As the bloodied and battered snake slunk out of the way, my heart going out to her as she grimaced at the dirt and dust getting into her wounds, Thyat gave a bellowing roar that sent the window panes shaking in their frames.

"She's not alive…" I muttered desperately, "That's not possible…"

"Perhaps not alive, but definitely substantial enough to do damage," Jay responded, adopting the look of absolute focus that always took control of his face when something really interested him.

Even as we spoke Karen was typing in commands furiously, something I supposed she had to do without the main computer of the 'Dome to recognise her voice. Just as Mechyena broke into a reckless charge, Thyat took one step forwards and wrapped her powerful arms around its neck and torso. Her claws dug in deep enough to draw blood as she used the mechanical creature's own momentum to send it crashing into the ground. The bricks shattering under the force of the blow, Mechyena found itself lying, bleeding, in the middle of a good sized dent in the road. For a second it remained still, dazed, before attempting to gain its feet before Nidoqueen could press the attack.

Too late: Karen's fingers were but a blur on her handset as Thyat stabbed out with her claws like daggers, no hesitation or guilt showing in her eyes as she drove the sharp talons into the vulnerable flesh that lay beneath shaggy black fur. Mechyena bellowed, red eyes wide in surprised agony, before lashing out blindly once again, its crushing jaws latching on around Nidoqueen's reinforced forearm and biting down hard. As I watched in disbelief Mech's canines sunk into its enemy to no avail; the Nidoqueen didn't even flinch. Like the robots I had compared her kind to earlier that very day, Thyat simply grasped the real Pokémon's skull in her free hand and yanked it away viciously, ripping away her own plating to reveal plain, bloodless darkness underneath.

Karen cheered, cawed from the sidelines, one hand continuing to input commands as the other punched the air in sadistic joy. As Nidoqueen intensified her grip behind the ears of a creature that gave me regular nightmares I felt indecision grasp hold of my mind like a vice. I hated Mechyena passionately - the damn thing scared me half to death and had dealt some nasty damage to my collarbone in the first few hours of my journey - but it was still a living being. Thyat… Thyat was just proving that she was nothing more than a soulless computer as she repeatedly slammed the hound's head into the ground with a brutality that sent shivers up my spine. But if Thyat were a computer, then what did that make Karen?

I don't know exactly what it was that made me act so stupidly, but I think most of it was just the fact that I was witnessing one of the most horrific open acts of cruelty I had ever seen in my life. Mechyena was out of it, that much was obvious from the way all tension in its legs had disappeared as it whimpered weakly whenever its head contacted the unforgiving ground, and yet Karen still spurred on her "real" hologram, so used to having another machine as her enemy that she seemed incapable of realising that this opponent _felt pain_.

I grabbed Raijin's Pokéball, aware that he was the one Pokémon I owned that would have no qualms with attacking an "ally", just as Jay opened his mouth to suggest that we stop this madness. Like we really could: Mechyena was considerably more powerful than any of our Pokémon and yet Thyat was making it look like the weakest thing alive. We still had to try.

Jay's Mightyena and my Mydral appeared in the space between us and the violence, Cerberus instantly stepping back and whining at his trainer at the sight that greeted him.

"Stop her," Jay ordered, his words fierce, "But be careful."

Even as he spoke Raijin sent me one of his scathing glares, apparently impervious to the scene as he sat back on his violet, scaly haunches.

"Raijin, work with me here," I called in entreaty, "I'll let you out more often, give you a better choice in food…"

_"Don't mahke ah fool of yourself, humahn,"_ he spat, _"When I wahnt ahll of thaht I will simply commahnd it."_

I blinked, amazed by his monstrous ego and stunned by his audacity, before a particularly loud howl from Mechyena and a jab in the side courtesy of Jay's elbow brought me back to reality. My eyes narrowed at the arrogant little dragon, trying to figure out what tactic might work on him and fast.

"Fine," I finally muttered, "If you're so terrified of that Nidoqueen I understand totally. I mean really, such a small-"

The murderous look I received in response to my remark would normally have made my blood run cold, but these were extreme circumstances. Spinning around with an angry huff Raijin launched himself at Thyat in a move that astonished me.

"No no NO!" I cried after him as his golden claws made contact with the Nidoqueen's plated back, "Not physical attacks, you suicidal weirdo!"

My yell was drowned out by Karen demanding to know what the hell we were doing, Jay informing me loudly that the ground type was immune to electricity and Cerberus's battle roar as he joined Raijin in the attack. Karen was furious, pressing a button angrily that sent Thyat spinning around, dropping Mechyena into a crumpled heap on the shattered flagstones as she caught both Raijin and Cerberus on the back of one rock-like arm. Both Jay and I cried out as our most powerful Pokémon were thrown back like they were nothing, Raijin suffering the worst as the backhand caught him across the face and sent him spinning headfirst into the cement of the curb. He staggered back up straight away, leathery wings spread unevenly as he swayed like a drunkard with blood seeping from the base of his skull where ground had first met dragon, just as Cerberus rebounded from the wall he had collided with like some sort of bouncy ball.

Neither of them was quite quick enough, however. Thyat was fast advancing; her computer generated self not suffering from pangs of conscience as she grabbed Raijin by the throat and hefted him from the ground as though he weighed nothing.

"Raijin!" I yelled uselessly as his golden eyes actually went so far as to widen in fear.

Suddenly appearing as weak and fragile as a child, he failed to even strike the Nidoqueen across the face with his long, whip like tail as she flung him unceremoniously over her shoulder while continuing her charge.

She was not like the Rhydon I had controlled earlier, I realised. Whether it was the effect of the RealSpec or some other powerful technology I did not know, but Thyat was quite capable of acting outside of the designated moves I had found so constricting.

"Karen!" I yelled as her hologram snatched up Cerberus and crushed him like a Dixie cup, several crunches signifying broken ribs as the Mightyena let out a deafening scream, "Stop that crazy thing! **_Stop it!_"**

"And let that demon dog thing get away to terrorise more people?" Karen's voice dripped with incredulous amazement, "Just return your Pokémon and let me get on with it, I'm only doing this to make you guys get out of my way, y'know!"

_**"Mechyena is out, you heartless bitch!"**_ Jay hollered, surprising me with the fury in his voice, _**"He can barely move, so lay off it!"**_

Jay hollered, surprising me with the fury in his voice, 

His whole body vibrated with unbridled fury as he returned his first Pokémon to the safety of his Pokéball. He had no more Pokémon to help him fight, but there was a glint in his eyes that said quite clearly that this was no obstacle…

"Stop!" I cried out in vain as my normally reserved companion ran at Nidoqueen.

She had returned her attention to Mechyena and Raijin, who was slumped against the big wolf's bloodied side, moving at a speed that a real Nidoqueen never could have managed but this didn't seem to faze Jay. As he leapt at her, obviously not sure how he was going to hurt the beast but damn well ready to give it a try, I threw myself at him just as Seville, who had been watching attentively from the sidelines, decided to strike.

The three of us converged in the air right beside Thyat, missing the Nidoqueen by less than half a metre, as my considerably heavier bulk knocked Jay off course with ease. My brain had only a second to rejoice, however, as red hot agony lanced through my lower forearm. Feeling something trickling over my skin as we fell, barely missing Thyat's thick tail, I looked down to see Sevielle's crimson fangs thrust deep into my flesh. And then we struck the ground, and I hadn't the strength to care that the liquid coursing over my arm was purple rather than red.

* * *

A/N: Cliffy-ish end:o This means I need to update a little faster, eh? ((sweatdrops)) Well, I've just started my half-term week off so who knows... I'm not suggesting anything, mind, because that always lures in the Legendary Writer's Block of Doom. As always, thanks to all reviewers... You peeps rawk. :) 

_The Mad Tortoise_- Hmm, if I were in Raven's place I definitely would have taken the money but somehow, when I was writing it, I couldn't see her doing the same. Dunno why, maybe this is some part of her personality randomly shining through... either that or just me being unrealisitic. As for Arina, she's really been growing on me as late, so expect some more of her in the future. I just have to figure out a way of stopping her from running away... Oh, and my track record with mini-series has been rather scarey - I almost always get carried away and start writing that more than the main fic. Considering my updating time, 'tis a risk I'm _probably _not going to take. Probably.

_WildTotodile_- Y'know, I totally forgot that I wrote that whole tree-apologising scene. Now it strikes me as rather odd... Heh, created Pokemon rawk. I'm all with you on that one. ((grins))

_Firebird Flight_- ((winces)) Sorry, not only am I slow but also forgetful. Although the reasons behind Hurricane's powers of speechwon't be explained through the story for some time, it's nothing plot-revealing so I may as well say it right now: he has a translator. In his throat (ew). It's an expensive thing to have done, so only the richest/most successful of trainers can afford it. Which might say something about Hurricane's past. ;) Glad you liked the chapter, BTW!

Finally: bring back asterixes! And those little arrowy-things that I can't remember the name of but are good for smily faces! Grah!


	14. Criminal

When compared with the previous chaper, I don't think this one's so good... But then again, I really enjoyed writing that hologram battle. Heh.

**Raven: Emerald Fist  
****Mechyena Saga**

**Chapter XIV: Criminal**

Light. So bright that it simply pressed through my eyelids as a red blur that made me scrunch up my face and try to bring up my hands to cover my eyes, only to stop with a gurgling sound from my throat as pain jolted up one arm.

_"You're awake!"_ an excited chirp sounded from somewhere to the left.

A snort came from the right, "For the tenth time."

Although I recognised the voices, my mind felt slow and sluggish, unable to make any proper connections. The reek of bleach and chemical cleanliness made my nostrils burn and my tongue felt thick and fat in my mouth; some sort of starched fabric scraped against my cheek as my stomach lurched queasily.

"Water," I managed to force out from between parched lips, my eyes protesting at the intensity of the light as I forced the lids back.

"Right here."

A thin plastic cup was pushed into my hand and I focused on it blearily as I lifted it to my mouth, managing to turn it into a vague cylinder shape as I swallowed some of the liquid and spilled the rest down my chin, neck and front.

An attempt to speak resulted in a few garbled notes, so let myself sink back onto something soft and focused on the task of remembering. It was difficult, my mind seemed set on slipping back into unconsciousness, but the two other people in the room remained silent as I forced myself to think._'_

_A hospital… this has to be a hospital,'_ I finally concluded, grimacing slightly at the feeling of falling that suddenly gripped me, only to let go half a second later,_ 'But did I loose a fight, or what?'_

I finally concluded, grimacing slightly at the feeling of falling that suddenly gripped me, only to let go half a second later, 

"Sam?" I rasped, thoughts of a particularly hard training session flashing through my reeling brain, "Elliot?"

_"Um, not quite,"_ the first voice informed me, _"I'm Polienix, your first Pokémon partner, and he's Jay… you do remember us, right?" _

Of course I remembered. The names Jay and Polienix had released the barrier damming up my memories, and now they rushed through my mind in a blur of mismatched events that shoved aside the previous images of my ten year old sparring partners with ease. I saw Hades, carried high above the roofs of Violet, Raijin, glaring at me as though I were poison through the clots of dried blood that clung to his wounds, Arina, hurling herself across a wooden room in Sprout Tower… Mechyena, beaten by a solid hologram.

"How did you know?" I blurted in unison with a roar in my brain as sitting up did odd things to my head, "How did you know Mechyena's name?"

There was a pause, during which my elbows turned to jelly and a flopped back onto the bed, darkness encircling my vision.

"He's famous," Jay responded confidently despite his hesitation, "On the news all the time. Whenever Team Emerald makes headlines he's there…"

**OOO**

Jay stopped with a sigh as his red haired companion's amber eyes rolled back and closed for the eleventh time. Having skulked around the hospital for the last three days, the bruising around his shoulder where it had been dislocated requiring a sling that made Pokémon battle a no-go: arm movement was something natural for him when he fought and he had no desire to hurt himself even more.

_"Not again,"_ Polienix complained from the wood laminate dresser that sat beside her trainer's bed, _"I'm bored."_

Jay shrugged, winced and shook his head.

"Me too," he agreed, removing a bothersome strand of dark blond hair from his forehead, where it had been tugging at the row of stitches that ran over his eye, "There's not much we can do, though."  
Sulking like the child she was, Polienix looked around sullenly before her gaze settled on the white framed window.

_"I'm going out,"_ she declared, her eyes flaring indigo as she spoke.

Instantly the window unlocked itself, shooting open so that it slammed up against the top of the frame, and Pol fluttered out, pleased with herself for managing to complete the trick she had been practising for some time without a hiccup.

With a sigh Jay took one last glance at Raven's unconscious form before turning to leave the room as well. No real reason to hang around for the dead to rise - he had taken to popping in every few hours or so to check up on her and so far said strategy had worked. A wander round the hospital wouldn't hurt, perhaps going up to the roof or maybe taking a short stroll outside, although he would have to get his coat first…

"Umph!" he exclaimed, momentarily incapable of saying anything more intelligible as walking smack into someone else incited the nerves in his arm to very painful rebellion.

"Hey, watch it! Or, uh, sorry…" a female voice exclaimed, the owner apparently sitting on the fence between apologetic and angry.

Grimacing before forcing something akin to a smile onto his face, Jay straightened up.

"Wasn't your fault, I-" he started, only to trail off as he found himself face to face with a rather uncomfortable looking Karen.

"Or perhaps it was," he finished icily, sea green eyes stormy, "After all, we wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't for you and your stupid, mindless-"

"Hey _buster_,"she snapped, "It's hardly my fault you can't stomach a little cruelty for the greater good. And it _was_ the greater good, that monster was barely even sentient from the looks of it-"

"Preposterous! ShadowSteel was whimpering like any other Pokémon wou-"

"Oooo, so now we're giving it nicknames, are we? How absolutely _adorable_, good thing it's not loose to rip some throats out and ruin the image, hmm?"

When Jay remained silent, Karen's eyes sparkled victoriously and she opened her mouth for a final retort, only to be cut off before she had even finished drawing breath.

"Why're you here, anyway?" the Pokémon trainer demanded, returning to the icy hostility with which he had used at the start of the interchange as a single thought aided rationality in holding back his anger.

The heiress to the Holodrome sniffed self-righteously, tossing her bright blond hair over her shoulder.

"I would have _told_ you if you hadn't leapt down my throat the minute I got in here. I'm here to 'cough up', as I suppose you'd put it."

Jay blinked, uncomprehending, "Pardon?"

Karen rolled her eyes, "The _reward_, idiot. As much as I dislike you and your muscle girl friend, she had the RealSpec my father had announced a _£5,000 cash reward_ for if anyone could find it. I argued, don't think I didn't, but rules are rules…"

Her face contorted into the look of disgust that only her chosen enemies were ever given and she reached into the brown suede purse that hung from one shoulder, pulling out a fistful of one hundred pound notes that she handed with a remorseful sigh to the dumbstruck Jay.

"I'm supposed to hand it straight to her but whatever, if I stay so close to you guys for much longer I think I'll barf," she sneered, "Never later, I hope."

Not responding as the girl stalked off, not a hint of the friendly, bubbly creature that Raven had encountered the previous week showing in her new You Are Enemy persona, Jay found himself incapable of even grunting in response. He stood with feet rooted to the ground, looking slowly from the money in his hands to the door leading to Raven's room and back again, oblivious to the concerned stares of the doctors and nurses passing by.

Finally he blinked.

"Cool."

**OOO**

_Ears pressed back against the broad dome of his skull, the wounded creature known as ShadowSteel paced stiffly back and forth across the floor of his cell like a caged tiger. Although one paw ached whenever he put pressure on it and his side protested every breath, the beast still found the strength to dig his claws deep into the cement every time he turned to pace in the opposite direction. He was too busy feeling upset and claustrophobic to take the time to limp or relent to his body's demands for rest: for the first time in his stunted memory Mechyena felt something dauntingly similar to fear._

_The cell was sturdy, built to contain powerful creatures such as Houndoom and Lavapard, and the only window was barely large enough for his snout to fit through, and that would have only been possible if it wasn't split into even smaller gaps by three sturdy, flameproof bars. Escape was impossible, not without help, and he had already failed, failed his master, attacked a target who was never meant to be harmed… He winced, remembering the cruel whip of the master in one of his crazier moments._

_It was not that whip, however, that he wanted to avoid. He would gladly endure a thousand lashings, if only it could get him out of this place…Although not the brightest of creatures, ShadowSteel was well aware of the concept of death, if only in a limited, child-like form. Seeing an old, sick Persian pushed past in a wire cage from the hallway, only for that same wire cage to come rumbling back on squeaky wheels a few minutes later, reeking of disinfectant and accompanied by a black bag that hung heavily from the hand of a human had left an impression in his memory. He was, after all, far too big to fit into any normal plastic bag._

_Tired and sore, the frustrated animal dropped into the corner and laid his bandaged head on his huge paws. Perhaps he should just wait here, hope that someone would come and tell him what to do… Suddenly a noise at the window caught his attention and Mechyena glanced up, only to find himself staring at a pair of exasperated blue eyes set into a thick featured face. The head sported supple grey skin and Mechyena only just caught sight of three tan crests that decorated its forehead before the creature ducked out of sight. Leaping onto his back legs, ShadowSteel tried in vain to peer out the tiny gap, his big silver claws slipping on the sloped windowsill._

_"Wrong direction, you stupid mutt," a masculine voice corrected scathingly._

_Whipping around with all the speed a large, wounded Pokémon could manage, Mech found himself face to face with a disgusted youth with icy blue eyes and silver hair. A set of keys dangled loosely from strong but slender fingers. Giving a pitiful doggy whine, ShadowSteel felt himself transferred to the land of grateful bliss as the click of a lock echoed throughout the empty corridor. He was free…_

**OOO**

As he walked the streets of Goldenrod, hands in pockets and fortunes in hand, Jay couldn't help but feel a sense of elation. He'd been out of the busy atmosphere of cities for far too long, suffering his way through tiny nowhere towns and muddy countryside with only a goal and the odd tourist attraction to keep him happy, so the low roar of Goldenrod background noise was a relaxing melody to the city loving boy. Add to that the fact that ShadowSteel was locked up and out of trouble and Jay was a very happy camper. No more near-devastating encounters with _that_ bothersome beast.

Mechyena in mind, the trainer released Magenix and allowed the fiery bird to perch companionably on his shoulder, the late autumn breeze ruffling his bright orange plumage.

_"Where now, admiral?"_ he inquired with charismatic confidence.

"The pound," responded Jay, "To pay Mechyena a visit."

Magenix looked shocked, his wings flaring open a fraction as though he needed help maintaining his balance.

_"Why?"_ he spluttered, "_That thing murdered my mother and tried to capture my sister, don't think I never registered that."_

"I know. All the more reason to make sure he's locked up well, I'd assume."

_"Point,"_ the Pokémon conceded, _"Although I don't see what could keep that thing held back if he wanted to go."_

Jay smiled grimly, "You'd be surprised, he's strong but not particularly intelligent. You could give him a key and he'd never manage to let himself out."

Magenix sniffed in mock hurt, _"You humans just don't appreciate the fact that not everyone has thumbs!"_

The duo slipped into conversation about the assets of being Pokémon or human, Magenix's wild gesticulations of what one could do with fire if one had hands to hit people with burning sticks forcing several bewildered passers-by to duck and dodge if they treasured their hair. The pound was not as far from the hospital as Jay would have liked, but at least it shortened the walk. They were there in a matter of minutes.

Unlike the animal shelter that sprawled on the outskirts of the city, the pound was not a friendly looking place. Built entirely of big grey breezeblocks, the pound's windows were small and barred up - not that they would have provided a particularly could view of the outside world anyway, the building was sandwiched between two huge apartment blocks that screened it from the sky most effectively.

Forced to put his weight behind forcing open the thick metal door, Jay stepped into a small reception area composed of a wooden desk in the corner with the varnish mostly gone, an ancient computer perching on its surface and a few saggy grey chairs. From the unpainted walls to the scraggy carpet that covered some of the floor it was very clear that the purpose of this place was not to make people want to come in. They picked up strays and gave them back… or disposed of the oldest ones when they ran out of room.

_'Almost a jailhouse for Pokémon,'_ Jay thought with some disgust, aware of Magenix's lapse into silence as his trainer strolled over to the desk.

"I'd like to see Mechyena," he told the receptionist, a plain young woman with a look of pure boredom playing across her features.

"He was brought in a few days ago, I was there when-"

"Yeah yeah," she interrupted, typing something into her computer and sliding a stick of gum into her mouth as the machine groaned and whirred unhappily at her request.

"Third door on the right, 's the only one in that corridor at the moment so ya can't miss it."

"Well, that was easy enough," Jay mused once they had passed through one door and out of earshot, "I thought I'd have to argue my way in here."

_"Prob'ly would've been better if we hadn't come at all,"_ Magenix commented in response, his black eyes regarding a caged Meowth whose swollen paws twitched fitfully in its sleep,_ "This place stinks of death."_

Magenix commented in response, his black eyes regarding a caged Meowth whose swollen paws twitched fitfully in its sleep, 

Jay didn't respond, pushing through a lighter swinging door and into the corridor the receptionist had specified. Three huge cells lined the walls, two on one side with a larger one on the other, and another door painted in white continued the passageway at the other end.

The cages were empty.

_"Wrong address?" _Magenix commented uncomfortably to Jay as the trainer's heart started to beat against his ribs.

"He's probably being kept through that door," Jay reasoned, striding forward.

A closer look at said door stopped him from going any further, _Euthanasia surgery - no entry_ was written on a sheet of paper taped to the white paint.

"Or perhaps not?"

Jay whirled, nearly dislodging the bird as he scanned the cells._'Maybe she gave me the wrong corridor,' _he thought desperately, only to catch sight of distinctive gouges in the cement floor of the largest chamber,_ 'Or… or perhaps they moved him.'_

Confusion at his own overreaction to the news that Mechyena wasn't where he should have been only worsened Jay's mental state as he hurried back to the reception area.

"Did they move him somewhere?" he blurted before he had regained his composure.

"Move who?" the receptionist asked blandly, blatantly uninterested.

"Mechyena!" Jay snapped, "The one I asked you about!"

"Oh."

Once again she turned to her computer, tapping in a query single-handedly as she twirled a lock of hair around a finger of the other. Feeling his normally latent anger reaching dangerous heights inside him, Jay slammed his palms down on the table so hard that the screws that held it together rattled in complaint.

"Are you telling me that you can't even keep track of one goddamned charge!"

Her dull brown eyes rotated slowly up to look at him, expression still impassive, "I haven't been charged with anything, sir, and your 'Mechyena' left some time this morning. Turns out he was nothing more than a Mightyena who had a horrible car accident some years back, his owner took him away-"

Jay was already gone, pausing only to struggle with the front door before bursting into the street and selecting a Pokéball from his belt.

"They picked him up already," he growled, more to himself than to Magenix, "Can't they see he does more harm than good?"

_"You mean that thing's free in the city!"_ Magenix exclaimed, horrified, _"I gotta tell 'Rora!"_

Launching himself skilfully from Jay's shoulder and out over the heads of the crowd, Magenix hauled himself higher into the air and was level with the tops of the medium height buildings before Jay could even open his mouth to speak. With a sigh the boy let his Pokémon go, focusing instead on releasing another creature onto the pavement.

"Yen!" Cerberus growled, his head whipping around to take in his surroundings before he turned back to his trainer.

"Cerb, I need you to follow Mech's scent," Jay informed the Mightyena, "I know it's odd, but we have to find him."

The dark grey beast regarded him in confusion for a second before giving the dog version of a shrug and raising his pointed nose to the air in search of the larger canine's distinctive smell. It took a second, but the dark type gave a yap and wheeled around to sniff the ground behind him enthusiastically before bounding off down the sidewalk.

"Hey, wait!" Jay yelled, taking off after his Pokémon but finding it difficult to follow once Cerberus bounded around a corner into one of the busier streets in town and was instantly swallowed by the crowd.

Struggling through gaps in the masses Jay just managed to catch sight of his new and improved nose one legs, which had stopped for a second to let him catch up. The minute he came within arm's length of the dog, however, Jay found himself forced to plough onwards once again as Cerberus gave another bark and skittered off between people's legs.

Cursing internally, he staggered out into a side road and raced after the Mightyena just as he shot left into an alleyway. Sprinting around the corner, Jay skidded to a stop, Cerberus backing into his legs before dropping his rear onto the boy's foot. Standing three metres away, his pose radiating nonchalance, an older teen regarded the pair with an icy blue gaze. His long silver hair was pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, allowing twin locks to fall freely on either side of his place, angular face. It only took a quick glance at the emerald green swathe of velvet the young man had tied conspicuously around his right bicep for Jay to know what he was. The fact that he was spinning an overly large shiny black Pokéball, complete with silver trim around the release button and the break between upper and lower halves, only made identification easier.

"You're the one who got in his way," the Emerald team member said finally, after flicking his gaze over Jay's sling and stitches, "Correct?"

Not entirely certain what to make of this person, Jay's voice contained notes of hesitance as he replied, "I saved his life."

The Emerald remained impassive, "And? You're still following us now, correct?"

"Yeah," he responded, his mind searching for evidence of the rank of this man.

For the first time the other teen showed sign of emotion: annoyance. With a sigh he pocketed Mechyena's Pokéball and slipped out of his arrogant stance into a more business-ready one.

"You know, I really don't care if Mechyena's freedom inconveniences you at all. Now scat, unless you're particularly interested in a beating."

Feeling the first prickles of fear in his palms, Jay reminded himself silently of why he was so desperately against Mech being on the streets again as an incentive to stay calm.

"Fisticuffs isn't really my forte," he informed the other, gesturing to Cerberus, who looked petrified but took up a fighting position though the sheer strength of canine loyalty.

Uncurling his fists, the lithe fighter chuckled, "Fine, have it your way. Two on two."

Before Jay even registered that his opponent had two Pokéballs in his hands the spheres were hurtling through the air, bouncing off the ground and back to their owner as two bolts of crimson zapped from them. To the left of the narrow alleyway materialised an odd brown creature that glared out at him from beneath wiry white fur that covered most of its head and spilled down its back.

"Shiiiif!" it hissed aggressively, brandishing two hands of three leaves each at trainer and Pokémon as it balanced precariously on inefficiently shaped feet.

"Teeeera!"

The second voice was the complete opposite of the first, high, sweet and not at all menacing. It came from a small blue creature that shared a general body shape with Omela: short, dainty front legs with larger, more powerful back ones that it rested most of its weight on. Its fur, shiny and pale blue, faded to pale maroon at the tips of its wing shaped ears, long, curvy tail and around its four paws. Blinking through large pink eyes, it tilted its rounded head to the side to look at Cerberus with a look of pure innocence.

_'Don't let appearances get to you,'_ Jay reminded himself doggedly, reaching for his Pokédex, _'It's probably a powerful normal type or-'_

"Ah!" he exclaimed, a razor sharp leaf slicing the skin open over his knuckles and knocking the Pokédex flying.

The machine smacked into the wall, snapping open on impact, before dropping to the ground with a clatter.

"Now now," said the Emerald patronisingly as Jay cringed, cradling his injured hand, "I know it's hard, but you're going to have to fight without your precious aids."

Both hands bloody, Jay didn't even glance at his Pokédex. He knew that the grass Pokémon, whatever it was, would never let him get to it. Instead he grabbed Fidranger's Pokéball clumsily from his belt with his left hand and released the grass dog beside Cerberus, wishing desperately that Magenix hadn't left him to warn his sister.

_"__What now?"_ the Janeran puppy instantly demanded, her leafy tail whipping like a cat's.

"It's just a fight," Jay responded, flinching as a movement of one finger sent a jolt of pain through his hand.

She turned away, sweeping the two enemy Pokémon and their trainer with a deploring gaze.

_"I suppose you have your reasons,"_ she sighed,_ "After all, 'against the odds' seems to be your style at the moment… shame the odds keep winning."_

Doing his best to ignore the inflammatory comments hurled his way by the dog, Jay hunted through his mind for some sort of strategy. Assuming the opponents were grass and normal types, he had no advantage without Magenix to help him. Grass against grass didn't seem like such a good idea; although Fidranger was a competent fighter she obviously wasn't in a particularly enthusiastic mood…

"Shiftry, focus on the Mightyena," the Emerald commanded, interrupting Jay's planning session with the opening moves of the battle, "Mentira, attack Fidranger with take down!"

"Fidranger, watch out! Cerberus, howl!"

As the Mightyena released an ear-rending howl Mentira broke into a run, its gait ungainly due to the difference in length between its front and back legs but still fast enough. It ran in a curving arch, altering its path so as to trap Fidranger against the wall, but the grass type was fully aware of the fact. She crouched and at the last possible second hurled herself into the air, attempting to leap over her foe. Mentira reacted fast, changing what would have been a simple barge into a flying tackle and ramming into Fidranger's exposed torso with its shoulder. Both collided heavily with the wall but the sweet looking mammal proved its strength by bouncing off the surface and somersaulting with unnatural ease back to its original position next to Shiftry, who had formed some sort of miniature whirlwind between its outstretched hands.

As Fidranger staggered up, favouring one of her back legs, something in Jay's mind clicked.

"Both of you! Tackle Shiftry _fast_!" he commanded, trying to ignore guilt as Fidranger shuddered before limping forwards with only half her normal speed.

Cerberus was fast though, charging full-tilt at the oddly humanoid creature with all his canine bulk ready to send the beast flying. He gave a feral snarl and- THWACK! Mentira lashed out with the wider end of its tail, using it as a club that collided heavily with the Mightyena's head and forced him to stumble over his own feet, reeling and whining as he crashed into the ground.

"Cerb!" Jay yelled uselessly as the dog rolled to Shiftry's wooden feet, trying to rise but failing miserably when one back leg gave out.

Seeing the condition of her companion Fidranger forced herself to speed up, choking back a whimper as her leg threatened to buckle every time the paw made contact with the ground. Gathering more strength she forced herself to jump, only to realise that she had timed it all wrong.

"Razor wind!"

Shiftry grinned menacingly from behind its mask of white fur, releasing its whirlwind in a funnel of razor sharp leaves that barrelled into Fidranger as she flew through the air and slicing through her lime green pelt. She yelped, losing control of the jump as droplets of blood splayed out through the air behind her. Jay could only watch in horror as Shiftry followed up its attack with a swiping blow to the jaw that cracked Fidranger's head back on her neck and slammed her down on her rear reeling weakly.

"Leech seed and back off!" he cried hopelessly, fully aware that this fight was lost, "Cerb, bite… bite Mentira…"

To his surprise Fidranger let her bruised and battered head tip back and let out a whimpering mockery of her normal howl, apparently determined to score one hit if nothing else. The tiny plants that poked up though gaps in the brick walls strained at her call, relaxed for a mere second and then burst from the confines of the brick and mortar. A rain of seeds sprayed out in a wide fan at Shiftry and Mentira and Jay felt hope twist in the pit of his stomach.

"Mentira," was all the opposing trainer said.

As though colliding with some invisible barrier, the barrage of seeds was instantly deflected, plant matter scattering in all directions with some going so far as to smack the amazed Jay square in the chest.

_"No!"_ Fidranger cried in disbelief while Cerberus was kicked away, fainted, by Shiftry,_ "Noo! I tried so hard!"_

Fidranger cried in disbelief while Cerberus was kicked away, fainted, by Shiftry, 

At her anguished wail lines of white light streaked across her body, coiling around her holly leaf ears and pulling the spikes back so that they lengthened and hardened. Her muzzle elongated, loosing its puppy roundness in favour of a more severe, sharp profile and dark green spikes pushed up through the lime green of her pelt. As the light grew to engulf her entirely, the simple oval leaves that lined her tail retracted just as six curved, scythe-like leaves pushed out nearer the end as a replacement. All the time she grew, slowly, until at last the light retracted and Jay found himself faced with an equally battered dog that sat a foot taller than the old and panted with exhaustion.

"An evolution," the other trainer stated nastily, "Well, let's put the beast out of its misery like its dark-type friend there. Psychic attack!"

Jay barely had time to fumble with Cerberus' Pokéball and clumsily return him one-handed before an unexpected aura built up around what he had assumed was normal type, pulsating between maroon and sky blue. Mentira gave a sadistic snarl of glee, psychic power gathering around its delicate paws, before throwing both forward and releasing a surge of strength at the helpless dog.

What had been Fidranger yowled, the sheer agony of having her mind invaded knocking her out before the brunt of the blast even had time to pick her up and toss her like a rag at her trainer.

"Oh-" Jay started, only to have the wind thrust from his lungs as he was heaved off his feet and into the unforgiving metal side of a dumpster.

Wetness dripping down his back from the back of his head, Jay instinctively struggled to get his breath back as dark and light swirled sickeningly before his eyes.

"I'll be taking this," the voice of Mechyena's liberator stated without any great enthusiasm as a pale hand took Jay's money from the stunned boy's pocket and quickly counted it through, extracting half and tossing the rest down onto bloodied trainer and dog.

As his surroundings spun even more and Jay's chin dropped onto his chest the Team Emerald member stalked off down the alleyway, leaving a chipped Pokédex to chime out forlornly,** "William Sammuet, male, fifteen, 43.5 victory rate."**

* * *

A/N: So, yesh, third person is difficult to write when you're so used to first. In fact, keeping myself from swapping into Raven's POV in this chapter made writing second person look easy. O.o' 

Chapter XV is about one-third done at the moment, I finished this one about a week ago and forgot to post it.

((ducks thrown objects))

I plead sieve-brained! I'm now officially on my Easter Break, however, so I should (major stress on should: I suppose you all already know how unstable my updating times are) be able to get out a chapter before I leave for Singapore on Sunday. Yeah, Singapore. Roasty toasty Obsidian, or something like that. My brother's going to complain like heck, little igloo creature that he is. :D Don't expect any updates for a week after Sunday, though, 'cause I still don't have the laptop that would let me write and updatewhile on holiday. £810.27 and counting, though...

**Firebird Flight**: Karen is... misguided. ((sweatdrop)) Evil'll do well enouh though, methinks. 'Tis odd to think of her that way, she was originally a powerful good guy from an original fiction I wrote when I was ten. Heh, I guess the only thing she retained was her appearance from when I picked her out of that behemoth of a story (400+ pages,damn I wrote a lot) and that changed so that she was wearing a skirt. Poor girl, never knew what hit her... (me XD)

Now, I have some english coursework to go gloat about. Bwahahahahaha...

_**Obsidian**_

EDIT: ((growls)) Damn you, QuickEdit! Messing up my formatting, turning half the story bold, making my italics continue on after speech marks, randomly repeating bits of sentences, WASTING MY TIME!

((growls some more and kicks QuickEdit))

I hate this damn thing.


	15. Wagonwheels

**Raven: Emerald Fist  
Mechyena Saga**

**Chapter XV - Wagon wheels**

"What do you _mean_ you had £5,000 but half of it's gone!" I exclaimed incredulously, having just been told the facts five times over already.

I had woken again a few hours after Jay left me and now, a full day later, I had just sat down on the edge of the bed after changing from a hospital gown into my own clothes when Jay had stumbled in, bruised, bloody and slightly soggy from morning dew._"_

_Some of which has now experienced some **minor** water damage…"_ Magenix added guiltily,_ "And some 'quick, dry it out!' burns too, m'afriad." _

_"We did have good intentions…"_ Polienix pleaded, _"I didn't know 'fortunes' burnt so easily either, otherwise I'd have told him to do an ember rather than flame wheel…"_

I groaned, partially because my headache was returning but mostly because of our Pokémon's incompetence.

"So that leaves us with how much?"

_"£2,100." _

_"And a half!"_ Magenix chirped hopefully, holding up half a scorched and wrinkled one hundred pound note.

"My will to live weakens," I muttered, dropping back onto the bed melodramatically, "Any more bad news, so I can just go and slit my wrists like a good little suicidal trainer?"

This time the looks they exchanged were less sheepish and more seriously worried. Magenix opened his yellow beak to supply me with his version of the answer, but Jay came straight out with it.

"Mechyena escaped. I lost the money when I tried to defeat the guy who released him in a Pokémon battle."

I froze, that feeling of fear building up as a heavy weight on my chest despite the most recent events involving Emerald's abomination. Mechyena, once again free to roam the streets and tail me like some sort of murderous stalker…

Fortunately I was snapped out of my doom-and-gloom train of thought when something high pitched and squeaky added its contribution to the conversation in the form of a pitiful little mew.

"Okay," I said simply, hopping neatly onto the less serious path, "What the hell was that?"

Sheepishness reigned supreme.

_"Well, you see,"_ Polienix started, in unison with Magenix's contribution of,_ "It all started when…"_

I looked at Jay, who simultaneously winced and shrugged.

"Let them tell it," he muttered, pulling something cream, tan and tiny out from under his blue shirt and setting it on his lap, "Although here's your culprit."

Miniscule beyond belief, the tiny kitten's head bobbed with every breath it took as it sniffed nervously at the jean of Jay's trousers. Its coat was mostly cream, with dark brown markings up its back legs and at the tip of its long, curly tail. An elongated coin perched between its ears and thick white whiskers protruded from its face.

As I stared in amazement, Magenix launched into his explanation._"Well Ray, when I heard that thing was back on the streets I instantly thought, like the good and loving brother that I am, that I had to inform my sis here so she could stay clear of any dodgy alleyways and stuff. I found her, but when I said what was going on she rudely insisted that-"_

_"I thought it'd be best if we went to help out,"_ Polienix continued, somehow managing to maintain childish innocence as she blatantly interrupted her sibling,_ "So we went back but Jay wasn't there so I said that we should see if he'd gone back inside 'cause I thought they might have needed to get the scent if Cerberus was gonna track Mechyena down but they weren't and on the way out we saw her sitting there, looking all unhappy and alone, and then it turned out that they were going to make her go to sleep for a long time because of her foot which is injured but you've been sleeping and that was a waste of time and so **boring** so I got bro here to melt the cage and we rescued her and took her to Jay when we found him in the alleyway," she blurted without hesitation, nodding wisely._

"Basically," I summarised, "You stole a cat from death row at the pound because you felt like it. Seems fairly minor compared to our normal business…"

Polienix nodded, happy that this made sense, _"Her name's Poppy. We've got to take her to the Pokémon centre so her paw can be healed and Jay can have a shower."_

"Priorities? What priorities?" I muttered to myself as we filed out of the hospital room, pausing for a final confirmation from a nurse that we were free to go before leaving the building entirely.

As we headed towards the Pokémon centre, Poppy the kitten huddled once again inside Jay's blue shirt, I did my best to keep things light. Although I was internally pining for the money Jay had lost and my balance left much to be desired, I was intent on keeping conversation away from… darker subjects… and rambled on about anything that came into my head, from battling the gym leader to Jay being a softie. Anything but the hard truth.

_"Ha! So they decide to return!" _a furious yet high pitched voice exclaimed as we stepped into the buzzing chatter of the ever crowded Pokémon centre.

All other noise died away as people abandoned their conversations to turn and stare at our motley crew of bird, cat and battered human. I blinked, feeling all the blood rush to my face as the few people in the way darted to the sidelines to leave a corridor from the doormat to the front desk, upon which an angry pink Pokémon was standing, its stubby arms on what I supposed were its hips.

"Pardon?" Jay said slowly, apparently just as startled as I was at this uncharacteristic display of aggression from one of the centre's Chansey.

_"You booked a room for one night over a week ago!"_ she cried, punching the air for effect,_ "And then left, leaving the room untidy and full of your human rubbish! Bags, clothing, food… You think the Pokémon centre wants any of this? Well, the answer is NO! No no no n-"_

"That's enough, Flora," sighed a weary nurse, pulling the large Pokémon from the desk with extraordinary strength and setting her on the ground.

"But they-"

"Bay three, Flora. Totodile attached to a litter bin by his teeth. If you could possibly sort that out…?"

Although I could no longer see the creature, hidden behind the main desk, the torrent of angry muttering was more than enough to leave me with a strong suspicion of the look on her face.

_"A bit highly strung, that one,"_ Magenix commented laughingly, glancing up at the nurse for a humorous agreement but instead finding himself staring into a pair of irate green eyes.

"Actually," she responded firmly, "She is quite right. The Pokémon centre is a hospital for sick Pokémon and a place where trainers can stay while they pass through. It is not," she produced both of our bags from beneath the counter and smacked them down on top, "Your personal dumping ground. So, unless there's a particular reason for your being here," her eyes strayed to the dried blood that encrusted Jay's forehead just below the hairline, "I suggest you leave."

"Well," my companion started, "I have this Meowth…"

Nurse Joy's attitude instantly changed, something I was grateful for, and she beckoned for us to come up to the desk as the noise level rose once again, floor show over. When Jay produced Poppy, watery eyed and exhausted, she quickly placed the kitten Pokémon into a clear plastic tray lined with a sky blue blanket and passed her to a colleague. As the lesser nurse hurried the injured creature to the bays at the back, Joy turned her critical eye back onto us.

"How on earth did that happen?" she demanded, looking from Jay to me, "And why did you leave it for so long?"

_"So long-"_ Polienix started, horrified at the thought of the tiny Meowth left to suffer in her cage.

Jay frowned, "She's not actually mine, we found her in this condition and decided to help her out," he told the nurse, carefully avoiding the fact that she was being held in the pound at the time.

Pol was not so diplomatic, _"Yeah, they left her in a cage and didn't help her at all! I'm glad **I'll** never end up in the pound, although if I did I'd teach 'em a lesson."_

"The pound?" Nurse Joy quipped sharply, "This kitten was left there in this state?"  
Jay and I swapped looks.

"Well… yeah," I said hesitantly, watching the red haired woman cautiously.

Her expression darkened instantly, the air around her practically sizzling with the energy of a thunderhead.

"BellAH!" she yelled through the door behind her, through which popped the pink head of a Blissey.

_"Yes ma'am?"_ the round creature inquired, moving forward with paws clasped together.

"Take care of the Pokémon Centre," demanded the nurse, her appearance one of a woman on the warpath as she jammed her white cap down further over her scarlet curls, "That pound's acting up again so I'm going to put things straight!"

_"Are you sure-" _the Blissey started, trailing off with a sigh as her superior stomped out of the building.

_"Ahem,"_ she prompted, bringing the attention of our group away from the doors, _"How may I help you?"_

Jay hesitated, taking one last backward glance before shrugging, "I'd like to use the showering facilities, if that's alright."

_"Of course, of course, up the stairs to the right," _she chimed, ushering the other trainer away before turning back to me,_ "If you don't need anything I'll have to ask you to leave. A line is building up behind you and I'm one nurse down."_

With that we were out on the streets once again, this time with a bag slung across my back. Despite having been stuck in a hospital bed for days, I found that I had regained my city sense and slipped easily through the writhing hoards, Polienix flying just overhead. She had abandoned her normal perch on my shoulder, and when I asked her why she just shook her head and inquired into our next destination, to which I answered "the gym."

She was distracted and it was contagious; as I walked I concentrated more on _why_ my first Pokémon was suddenly skittish than the battle I was about to face. Of course, the answer was as clear as day: Mechyena. She hadn't shared my fear of him before, however, even after seeing me laid up in the Pokémon centre with a cracked clavicle. I refused to believe that a trip to a proper hospital could affect her so badly.

_"I don't think normal type Pokèmon are really that weak," _she piped up suddenly as we reached the cream coloured gym, _"I think you believed that stranger too easily."_

I paused, glancing up at her as she perched on the ledge above the doors.

"Who said I believed him?" I inquired, surprised that she had realised the truth of my opinion.

_"You did,"_ she replied simply, just as the beam of light circled from her pale blue Regenball and snapped her up.

I sighed, clipping the ball back to my belt, before entering the gym's reception area, taking a number and sitting down to wait. What the man had said made perfect sense… and why did she care if I had a reservation about a certain type? It wasn't like I would neglect a Pokémon like those people at the pound: even Raijin and Arina were fed, watered and allowed out every day… well, I had no way of knowing if that had been so at the hospital, but that was hardly my fault.

Time passed slowly, some battles taking longer than I would have believed possible, but eventually my number was formed by the glowing red digits on the wall. I got up, stretching the kinks from my back and neck before striding over to the door into the arena. It was warm inside, with the same cream walls that characterised the reception area and a dirt floor with an arena marked out in chalk. A red haired girl with bright green eyes brushed past me, grinning to herself as the small brown bear Pokémon dancing around her feet waved a diamond shaped badge in its tiny claws. It paused as its trainer pushed out into the reception area, giving me the thumbs up before rushing after the girl.

I couldn't help but grin as I approached the girl placing three Pokéballs into some sort of machine, one I assumed was for healing. Dressed in a cream button up t-shirt and shorts, both complete with pink trim, she sniffled a bit as the machine emitted an annoying, bouncy little tune. Her hair, the same pale shade of pink as the simple decoration on her clothing, was pulled into two short pigtails that wobbled as she took her Pokémon back and waved at me half-heartedly. She struck me as extremely tired, something that only increased the intensity of my grin.

"If you can just get onto the challenger's podium…" she instructed, pointing towards the raised area as she forced herself to smile.

I nodded and trotted over to the ladder, hauling myself up the first three rungs. This was going to be a sin- Suddenly the room spun around me and I clung to the ladder for dear life even though I wasn't all that high up. Nausea took a hold of my stomach and I swallowed sickly, flushing hot and cold as the steps dug into the palms of my hands.

"S'nothing," I reassured myself as the symptoms slowly receded, allowing me to climb higher and drag myself onto the platform.

"You ready?" Whitney called as I got to my feet.

"Yeah," I called back, noticing the way she had erased all signs of fatigue from her face in preparation for battle.

I just had to push away the illness, whatever it was, yeah, that was it…

"Alright then! Clefairy, let's do this!"

Deciding that it would be safest to hold onto something at all times, I moved to the front edge of my platform and wrapped my hands around the cold steel bars as a tiny creature materialised on Whitney's side of the field. Its short, round legs carrying it in a little jig, the pink Pokémon wiggled its long, brown tipped ears and emitted a sweet giggle from its small mouth. It was little more than a ball with limbs, a tuft of curly hair adorning the front and a fat, coiled tail waving in the back.

Taking a deep breath to bring myself into battle mentality, I snatched Polienix's Regenball from its clip and released the small-bodied bird into the air. She chirped, glad to be chosen, and fluttered in a quick circle on powder blue wings.

"Alright, start this off with sand attack," I commanded, my voice getting stronger as I spoke.

A savage sparkle in her eye, Pol shoved both wings back and dove, pulling up at the last possible second and hovering over the ground. Flapping hard, she easily freed dirt and sand from the arena floor, the gritty mixture flying towards cheery Clefairy as it danced on the spot.

"Clefairy, block it with defence curl!" Whitney called, sounding remarkably worried for a gym leader.

Her Pokémon obviously didn't have its trainer's inhibitions, however, as it quickly rolled itself up, tail shielding its eyes as the brunt of the sand attack caught in its fur and dropped to the ground, useless.

"Okay, forget that," I yielded as Pol's swift strokes of her wings carried her so high that she brushed the ceiling with each upstroke, "Dart in there with quick attack!"

"Uh-uh!" Whitney shook her head as Polienix dove once again, "Double slap it as soon as it comes into range, Clefairy."

Giving a cry of approval, Clefairy pulled back its three fingered hand as its enemy approached.

"Careful!" I yelled as my Pokémon plummeted.

Shooting through the air, Pol extended her sharp claws as she attempted to snatch Clefairy and use the force of her momentum to hurl it into the base of Whitney's platform. The pink creature was ready, however, and smacked Pol across the head even as her talons latched onto its coat. Thrown off course by the blow, Polienix squeaked in surprise and released Clefairy when it was barely off the ground, smacking it into the dirt for minor damage as her own wing struck the ground and she was sent head over tail across the arena floor.

"Polienix!" I cried out as she slid to a stop, chin to the soil in the same position that had marked the end of our battle against Mel and Omela, "Damn it, are you alright?"

_"Unuh…" _she moaned, shifting slightly on the ground but falling back when she tried to get up.

_"'m okay… really…" _she muttered determinedly,_ "I'll just…"_

She trailed off as her feet found purchase on the ground and she hoisted herself up while Clefairy sniffled and rubbed a large lump on its forehead. I breathed a sigh of relief as my Pokémon folded her wings back up and turned around, wobbling slightly but still standing.

"I know it's hard, but you have to get in there and pound it!" Whitney urged her Pokémon, who looked distinctly tearful.

Like its trainer had done earlier, Clefairy wiped its nose and eyes at the command, focusing on Polienix so as to attack her physically while she was grounded.

"That's it!" I cried suddenly, remembering that normal types had no elemental strikes, "You have to get into the air, Pol, then you can win."

With Clefairy running towards her at top speed, Polienix didn't need much harassing. Despite getting back up, however, she was still injured and returning to the air took several hasty flaps of her aching wings

._"I'm… up!" _she gasped under the strain as she gained enough altitude to yank her tail feathers out of the way before Clefairy could snatch them and pull her back down.

"Great!" I cheered, "Now all you have to do is throw a few powder snow moves at it… if you can, that is," I added, suddenly realising the hole in my plan as Polienix moved close enough for me to see how hard she was breathing.

_"I think I can,"_ Polienix responded bravely, loosing a bit of height as she glided in a swooping curve to face her opponent once again.

"Staying in the air…" Whitney murmured, barely loud enough for me to hear, "Well then, take a chance with metronome!"

With those words and the gathering of shining white energy around Clefairy's wagging fingers as it prepared the attack I realised that my plan was not such a good one.

"Quick, Pol, um, use… use…" I grasped for a strategy, for something that could stop whatever resulted from that metronome from knocking out the icy bird.

"Liiiiiii!"

As I squirmed in desperation Polienix shouldered the burden of strategising, her whole frame shaking as she dropped once again, a familiar lilac aura building up around her and swirling over the breaking edges of her wings.

"What are you doing!" I exclaimed as she lost height I knew she wouldn't easily regain.

_"Fighting!"_ she answered psychically, refraining from opening her beak as the ground grew nearer.

Suddenly she threw all the gathered energy forwards in a swirling mass of purples and blues. To my surprise, Clefairy wasn't thrown back by the blast, instead continuing its attack as though unharmed.

"Pol," I screamed, "It didn't work!"

Even as I spoke Clefairy completed its move, a plume of roaring embers soaring up… from right around it.

"'Fairy!" Whitney wailed in horror as the Pokémon struck itself with a powerful fire move, one that would have had a devastating effect on my ice type.

Clefairy looked devastated too, tottering as the flames receded before toppling back onto its back with a weak whimper, its rosy fur charred and blackened.

"Return!" Whitney shouted hysterically, removing her battler from the stage as tears coursed down her face, "You… you **meanie**! Forget best 'till last, you're going to **pay**!"

"Oh really?" I sniggered, far from impressed.

"Raven…"

The weak voice of Polienix reminded me that this victory hadn't come without its casualties. Sat in the dirt, her head, wings and tail sagging as she panted uncontrollably, Polienix was obviously not up for another round.

"It's alright," I called down to her soothingly, "You did well."

As Polienix was retracted, banned from further involvement in the battle, Whitney's new creature appeared in all its 'glory'. Large and rotund, it was a brighter pink than Clefairy, with a beige belly and large blue markings present across its back. It mooed in a not-so-challenging way, the udders on its belly jiggling as it stood on two black hooves and stared out from beneath the mask of dark blue that covered its face.

"Hold nothing back, Miltank!" Whitney ordered from between sniffs, "She beat up Clefairy!"

"Alright then," I released a Pokémon of my own, trying not to snort at Whitney and her cow, "Hade, turn that thing into mincemeat, extra fine."

Barking an affirmative, the loyal Houndour crouched down with his dark orange underside pressed to the dirt. He growled threateningly at Miltank, who initially seemed slightly unnerved by the presence of the predator but quieted down after she realised how small the pup was.

_'Ha, don't be so quick to dismiss **this** hound,' _I thought superciliously, conveniently forgetting about Hades' string of losses back in Violet.

"Defence curl!" came the opposing order, one I grinned at.

_'Who said **anything** about physical attacks?'_ I jeered internally, wincing only as my balance wobbled for a second.

"Hades," I gripped the railing for support until the dizzy spell had passed, "Ember!"

He wasted no time, eager to follow up on the victories he had won across routes forty five and six. Flame dribbling from his jaws like liquid, he charged the rolled up shape of Miltank and unleashed a burst of fire that scorched the skin into varying shades of brown.

As I laughed in the background, Miltank cried out but didn't looseher form, still curled up as thoughher life depended on it.

"Rollout!" Whitney commanded, her tears already dried out as her Pokémon started to spin.

I faltered, "Um, Hades… dodge that thing!"

With a frightened yelp the Houndour turned and ran, large paws scrabbling in the dirt before he gained proper grip and surged forwards, Miltank spinning along behind him at a scary velocity.

"Jump! To the left!" I cried, "And fire off another ember as it passes!"

Hades did what he was told, barely avoiding the cow as she shot past him and firing another stream of embers at her revolving body. To my dismay the flame simply flowed over her as she wheeled away, gaining even more speed as she turned at the far end and shot back in Hades' direction.

"Gah!" I exclaimed as another near miss sent both Hades and I shivering, "Use… uh… Blind it with smog!"

It was a good tactic, in my opinion. Miltank wouldn't be able to see through the thick purple gas so Hades could avoid her while we thought up a way to deal some damage of our own. However, I failed to take one major detail into account: Miltank wouldn't be the only one who was blind.

"Hades, no!" I hollered, my throat raw, as he was sent hurtling out of his own poisonous cloud and skipped like a stone across the dry earth.

He struggled to get back up and I opened my mouth to encourage him just as another wave of nausea swept my mind blank and sent me draped over the railing, knees buckled and vision swimming. Although I couldn't see what was going on the audio was horrific enough: bark after strangled bark as Hades was thrown, landed, struggled to get up but failed as Miltank once again collided with him and sent him careering elsewhere. Apparently Whitney wasn't watching me as she made no attempt to hold Miltank back as I struggled to surrender my Pokémon. I was left gasping, swallowing repeatedly as I fought with my stomach's urge to expel my breakfast and completely incapable of removing Hades from the field.

"Hound!"

SMACK!

"Dour!"

SMACK!

"Hound…!"

SMACK!

"Dour…"

SMACK!

I gritted my teeth, swallowed my breakfast and forced my legs to straighten.

"Hades…" I panted, barely able to see him through a veil of black, "Return!"

The last canine cry died out, leaving the steady whir of Miltank as it spun on the spot and my own harsh breathing to fill the silence of the gym.

"You'll get over it," Whitney said smugly, mistaking my doubled up position as a reaction to the battering of my Houndour, "Now hurry up so we can get this over with and I can heal my Clefairy!"

For a second I nearly sent out Arina, wishing through the pain that she could tie up Miltank with some sort of web before it could hurt her, but I had no desire to loose this battle because my Pokémon ran away. And I didn't feel kind. Not kind at all. Merciless was now my style.

"Raijin," I wheezed, my vision clearing enough to make out his huge wings, long tail and hornlike ears as the purple dragon took shape on the arena, "Over to you, dragon man."

_"Drahgon mahn," _Raijin scoffed, his signature arrogance for once giving me hope_, "Cahn't you think of something better thahn thaht, humahn?"_

I blinked, colour returning to my sight, and managed a smirk, "Nope."

"Miltank…"

At Whitney's voice Raijin turned his attention to the rolling cow, who had slowed down in the brief interval enough that her basic shape was distinguishable within the curled up ball. He flexed his wings, the golden claws clicking lazily, and snorted.

"Ah cow? You wahnt me to fight ah-"

"RAIJIN!" I screamed, just as Whitney ordered her Pokémon to attack.

"Shut up humahn, you worry ahbout the weahkest of thinGAH!"

I could feel my strength returning as I hauled myself more upright, watching in horror as the Pokémon collided with the arrogant dragon's back and threw him, body writhing in the air, to smack side first into the ground. A sense of déjà vu settled over me as the first collision was followed up with a second, but Raijin wasn't so green a battler as Hades.

Gaining proper control in mid-fall the dragon righted himself and landed on all fours, albeit unsteadily. He had no time to gain full balance, however, barely managing to launch himself out of the way as Miltank thundered towards him. He let out a howl of pain as the tip of his tail was crushed under the creature's bulk, releasing a bolt of electricity that jolted over his scales and zapped into Miltank. She kept spinning but a grunt of pain revealed that electricity wasn't quite as easy to deflect as fire.

His narrow face contorting with anger, Raijin whipped the back end of his body around, pivoting on his front paws, and finally awarded Miltank threat status. As she zoomed back for another hit he leapt, leathery wings extending so that he soared above her, and shot a thunder wave attack down directly into her body. My grip tightened around the cold metal in false hope that Miltank was paralysed but no: she barely even lost speed and was quick on Raijin's tail.

_"Stupid cow!"_ he snarled angrily, forced again to leap aside and attempt to do some damage via a side on blast.

"Look!" I cried, my head at last completely clear, "She stopped! Go for it!"

Miltank had unrolled, crouched over with one front leg holding her up in sure indication of injury. Whitney called out, some unintelligible nonsense that I missed entirely in the face of my elation.

_"How the mighty hahve fahllen," _Raijin sneered sarcastically, lowering his head so that the sharp ridge that ran down the centre of his forehead was aimed at his enemy.

He leapt into a sprint, the tip of his injured tail dragging slightly but not enough to have any significant effect. As he started to run, however, I realised that Miltank seemed to be… milking herself.

"Bleh!" I exclaimed as white liquid pooled in its free hand, "What's your Pokémon _doing?_"

It hardly mattered - Miltank only managed to slurp up a handful of milk before Raijin smacked into her with a headbutt attack, sending her tumbling onto her back with a cry of "tank!"

Digging in his claws, the Mydral swung himself around, electricity gathering over his body once again.

_"You bi-"_ he started in horror, only to be slammed into the ground with all of an inexplicably revived Miltank's weight on top of him.

"Jin!" I called helplessly, "Shock her off!"

Even as I spoke Whitney's Pokémon was repositioning herself so that she was sitting on the electric dragon, hooves drumming his skull mercilessly. Red started to seep from between scales and down from the corner of his mouth when suddenly Raijin found himself free.

"Driiiiiiil!" he keened, staggering sideways as his battered head whipped from side to side in search of the enemy.

And then Miltank landed.

"Shit," I whispered as shock took over Raijin's features.

His golden eyes bulged, claws scratching convulsively at the dirt in a last ditch effort.

"Shit!" I repeated, in time with the Mydral's croak of defeat.

He collapsed, Miltank rubbing its bulk down on his limp form before it sprung up and gave its joyful mistress a wide grin.

"We won!" she cried gleefully, jumping from her podium and down into her cow Pokémon's arms, "Haha! You lost, I won, nya nya nya nya nyaaa nya!"

I gaped, thoughts of draconic revenge overpowering all worry about my current health, before returning Raijin from his position sprawled out on the floor.

"Fine!" I yelled at Whitney, who had struck a stupid position in her Pokémon's arms and was waving her fingers in the accursed peace sign, "Be totally unsympathetic! See if I care!"

With that I practically hurled myself from the podium, taking the rungs three at a time before storming out of the gym with fists clenched and face scrunched up in a fearsome scowl. A few bewildered trainers scuttled out of the way, while some who tittered from the benches received a venomous amber glare.

"Crappy Goldenrod!" I muttered furiously to myself as I strode back towards the Pokémon centre, "It's not even a proper city, no canals, no shady downtown… Bah, it shouldn't be allowed to slap a title like that on the end of its name, it's more like a stupidly big town with a fittingly idiotic gym leader…"

I ranted and raved my way onwards, furious temper carrying me almost all the way back before I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye.

"Tense?" a blue poster pasted to a lamp post enquired.

"Yes," I spat in response, ignoring the worried stares of a few other people as I stopped in the middle of the pavement.

"Wound up?"

"Duh."

"Sick of life?"

"**What the hell do you think!"** I roared, causing a mother to mutter comforting things to her children as she ushered them away, keeping her own body between me and them.

"Well then spend a day on a boat, so you can relaaaaax."

"In the middle of a massive body of water," I said cynically, "Uh-huh."

In truth, however, my fear had always been of water, not boats. Twisted logic, perhaps, but I really did miss those canal barges…

In a moment of spontaneous insanity, I snatched the poster from its place on the lamppost, ripping off the corners where it was stuck down, and stuffed it moodily into my pocket before continuing my stormy walk back to the Centre.

If Jay didn't like boats, that was his problem entirely.

* * *

You don't know what lengths I went to to get this chapter out on time. It was crazy, I swear. 

Obsidian: ((finishes a can of Red Bull and tosses it into the bin to join its three other siblings))

Mum: ((walks in)) What do you think you're doing up so late, young lady? It's half eleven at night and here you are typing away! Need I remind you that you've got a flight to catch tomorrow?

Obsidian: ((continues to type without looking up)) Yeeeeee-up.

Mum: And...?

Obsidian: I'll sleep on the plane.

Mum: You NEVER sleep on planes.

Obsidian: In the car.

Mum: It sounds like a bloody tank.

Obsidian: So?

Mum: Get. Off. The. Computer.

Obsidian: Sure.

Mum: Oh, good. ((wanders off, happy that her daughter is good and obedient))

Obsidian: ((turns off the monitor, switches off the light and goes upstairs, loudly. Comes back down, quietly, about half a minute later, sneaks into the dining room, eases the door closed behind her and turns the monitor back on, lowering the brightness)) Muwahahahaha.

I still had to wait until this morning to post it though, one can't count on one's senses to do a good job at two in the morning, which is when I finally finished it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a tank to ride in and a plane to catch. I'll sleep when I get there. :B


	16. Red Sky

**Raven: Emerald Fist  
Mechyena Saga**

**Chapter XVI - Red Sky**

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jay inquired slowly, peering at the dilapidated shack of a boat rental building from his place beside me on the rickety wooden jetty.

We had walked to the end of the platform, which extended about twenty metres out from the beach, under the misconception that one of the boats moored to it would be the tourist one I had set my heart on. After we realised our error we had decided to wait for a few minutes instead of hurrying back. The early morning sky was an awe inspiring ruby red over the shimmering surface of the ocean beneath it and, combined with the gentle lap of waves against the dock, the scene had a hypnotic effect that I found hard to resist. It was only the tug of my pride at Jay's sceptical comment and the chill of a breeze set on reminding me of the late autumn setting that helped me to turn away from the water and back to my companion, the shore and the boathouse.

"Of course I'm sure," I told him confidently, crossing my arms not only to show my tenacity on the subject but to fend off the nip of the wind, "A boat trip will be good for us, if nothing else we can catch a break from the chaos we've been in the middle of lately. Anyway," I pointed out, "Where there is water there are water Pokémon, and we have none. Is that incentive enough for you?"

"That doesn't change the fact that, last time I checked, you were terrified of water," Jay retorted calmly, although there was a certain glimmer in his eyes at the thought of a new addition to his three 'Mon team that told me the argument was already mine.

"Being _in_ water, not _on_ it," I dismissed his comment casually, "I've been on barges before and they never bothered me."

Jay simply shrugged, a submissive 'whatever you say but don't hold me accountable' gesture, and we started back along the jetty, my hands shoved into the pockets of my new jeans as my feet skirted dried patches of white Wingull guano. There weren't any huge flocks of the pale feathered bird Pokémon crowding in the sky, and for that I was grateful.

After crossing the beach, carefully hopping over explosions of seaweed splattered over the sand and trying not to crush any tiny orange Krabby that darted about the salty green refuge, we found ourselves standing hesitantly outside the little wooden house. It was built on top of an elevated wooden deck, some of the platform jutting out from beneath it, and the space was littered with salt encrusted coils of various types of rope. When the ripped and faded state of the poster proclaiming the place's identity was added to the picture I couldn't help but wonder if it had gone out of business years ago, but stepped forwards never the less to knock on the door.

With each rap of my knuckles the nails holding the door to its frame shook alarmingly but other than a little dislodged dust the house gave no reply, standing as old, silent and empty as before.

"Abandoned, no doubt," Jay muttered after a few seconds, "Probably due to a lack of people so stupid as-"

Although he said more, the rest of the trainer's sentence was drowned out by a much louder voice that made me jump backwards so fast I tripped, my head and back colliding with the doorframe of the boathouse with a thud.

"Ahoy!" cried the voice, a word that caused my lagging expectations to plummet so far I had to wonder if an abyss had opened up in my brain and my optimism fallen into it.

Rubbing my head and trying to force away the dizziness the impact had dragged back up with the power of my mind, I watched with detached amazement as a grizzled man with wiry grey hair pulled back into a ponytail beneath his battered captain's hat emerged from behind a particularly large stack of Crawdaunt pots and rope coils. He dressed like a particularly bad costume player, the impressive dark blue coat that fell thickly from his broad shoulders ruined only by threadbare elbows and the way sea water had bleached patches of it to lighter shades of blue, leaving me with the lasting impression of cheap camouflage print gone wrong. Beneath that he wore a much more normal pair of dirty jean overalls but had insisted on tucking the trouser legs into his thick grey socks, for whatever reason. Add to that a pair of converse trainers on his feet and the man was the epitome of bizarre.

"Well?" the crazy pirate-sailor wannabe prompted unexpectedly, squinting at us critically, "Ahoy!"

"A-uh-hoy?" Jay tried hesitantly after a few seconds' confused silence.

The man beamed, "Ahoy! You be here for th' sailing, I reckon."

"N-nah, not really!" I blurted squeakily, the thought of sailing skills as bad as dress sense haunting the back of my mind, "We just saw this house and wondered what it was, yeah, that's all!"

"Ah, well," his grin widened to impossible proportions, "Good thing I saw yez then, ye'd 'ave missed out on a most tremendous voyage! Only six dubloons each!"

Jay and I swapped glances but to my surprise his expression was one of interest, unlike mine. For a second I was shocked, but then it dawned on me… Pokémon. He was still determined to catch a water Pokémon for his team.

_'Damn it,'_ I cursed, thoughts of powerful Dewgong, Starmie and Kingdra starting to hack at logic and common sense.

"Fine," I sighed, "But what the heck's a dubloon?"

"What's a dubloon?" the man seemed appalled, "How can ye not know what a dubloon is?"

Seeing my consistently clueless expression, he sighed and dug around in one massive pocket of his coat.

"Here," he held out a small copper coin, allowing me only a quick glance before shoving it back into his pocket, "Though that one's mine, ye hear?"

"Naturally," I responded, reaching into my own pocket.

Jay blinked, "Raven, I think we both know that you don't have any-"

I shoved him back and smiled, holding out my hand for the man to see. Twelve of the shiniest pennies in my purse glittered in my palm, and the man snatched them up greedily, tilting the worthless coins in the sunlight as though they were some sort of rare treasure.

"Well I'll be damned," he muttered after a second, amazed, "Th' gal's rich! Ye two 'ave got yaselves a boat!"

**ooo**

_Two shapes, one tall and humanoid and the other wolf like and walking on all fours, made their way through the forest noisily, glad that the human who had accompanied them had left them to the rest of the walk a while ago. The huge dog, his shaggy black coat stuck together in places with his own blood and his external metal ligaments and skeleton scuffed and scarred, had lost its once proud posture and now walked with its head and tail down, glaring venomously at the creatures they passed through murderous red eyes. _

"Oh stop it, Shadow," _his companion snapped in exasperation, all four of her well muscled arms crossed over her toned chest, _"You'll get nowhere by sulking, it's most unbecoming of you."

ShadowSteel snorted at her, the side of his face not bound up in bandages crinkling in disagreement.

_"Fine, fine, so he'll punish you," she continued as though his response was as clear as day, "It's your own fault for putting yourself forwards for that experiment, anyway. You should have followed my example, hmm?"_

_The reminder only caused Mechyena to release a furious growl from the back of his throat as they separated to go around either side of a deep mud pit. Joining again beyond the foliage that hid the erroded lip of the pit from sight, the two Pokémon continued on in silence. They covered ground faster that way, both impressive specimens that moved far faster than any human, and soon the roar of a busy city's roads reached the wide ears of the hound. _

_"Home again home again, eh?" the Machamp commented as the first towering spires became visible through the steadily diminishing canopy of dark leaves above them._

_As they reached the last few trees of the woodland, Mechyena stopped suddenly to stare up regretfully at the oppressive grey buildings, his ears pressed back against the dome of his skull._

_"Hey, we had to come here, you know?" the other Pokémon reminded him, "I know he isn't here, but the people who can fix you are… the people who can make you even better."_

_His head rose at this last comment, the tantalising thought of additional strength making the next few steps easier. The Master might not be here to see him, but perhaps that could be seen positively. Perhaps the next time he saw him, ShadowSteel would have succeeded in his simple task, all because of a few useful upgrades…_

**ooo**

One thing worth remembering is that a boat is not a barge. A barge is a boat, yes, but it doesn't necessarily work both ways. As we bobbed out across the bay, land getting further and further away as the waves jostled our little craft relentlessly, I just started to regret having never known that useful fact.

"Hey, look," Jay offered as comfort, slinging himself down beside me as I stared out at the diminishing line of land, "You can't catch big Pokémon from a barge, can you?"

_"Ahgreed," _the voice of a dragon I now regretted releasing cackled,_ "The wahter's not deep enough there. Out here though…"_

"Shut up, Raijin," I snapped, my head snapping around to glare at him as he sunbathed on the roof of the cabin.

It had been guilt at letting him loose to Miltank two days before that had caused me to let him out but I wasn't the only one who hadn't forgotten the loss. Pride hurt more than his body, the Mydral hurled even more nasty comments at me than usual and his eyes had lost the joking look they had gained in more recent days, reverting right back to the sinister malice that sent shivers down my spine when I saw it.

_"Only when I wahnt to, humahn,"_ he hissed, smirking at my disquiet.

Trying to cover up said reaction I turned back to the view over the side, appreciating the job my new training uniform was doing of keeping out the worst of the cold wind so I could enjoy the sun on my back. Well, try to enjoy. The land was almost invisible now and I swallowed as the last skyscraper disappeared beyond the horizon.

"'Ey now lass, cheer up," the man who had identified himself simply as 'Captain' said with a pat on my back, "Now that we're this far out we can fish!"

I looked up at the smiling sailor, "Fish?"

In response he shoved a fishing pole and bucket of bait into my hands and pointed at the water, "It's simple: just spear th' bait on th' hook, throw the hook overboard and wait for a tug, then pull it up. None o' tha' fancy stuff here - even _I_ don't understand them new things!"

Another pat on my shoulder and he was gone, shoving similar implements into Jay's hands before disappearing off below deck for whatever reason. We swapped looks but settled down on a bench near the side, the fact that we were city-bred teenagers with the fishing experience of Trapinch glaringly obvious through our clumsy handling of the supple wooden fishing poles.

"So," he started, pinching a wiggling worm between thumb and forefinger and grimacing in distaste, "Think we'll catch anything?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but the boat chose just that second to hit a particularly large swell in the water, cutting me off as the deck heaved up and down again. Grabbing Jay's arm, I squeezed until he yelped, refusing to let go until we had returned to the standard rhythmic rocking.

"Thanks for that," he said dryly as Raijin cracked up in the background, "If I'd known boat trips were so bruising I never would have agreed to come."

I ignored his comment. Something had hit my foot and, as I reached down to see what it was, my hand closed around what felt like a medium sized Pokéball. Awkwardly tossing thebaited hookof my fishing rod over the side, I held up the fruit of my short search and gave Jay a questioning look.

He winced at my expression, "Ah, well…"

In my hand sat a Pokéball, but not just any Pokéball. Its smooth, perfectly spherical surface was a glistening pearl pink, the gap between halves and around the button painted gold rather than black. To finish the abomination sprouted more of the pink plastic over the top of the button, splaying out like a petrified ribbon bow.

"Just what the hell is this?" I inquired, for a moment forgetting the hateful ship in the face of such a hideous item.

"Poppy's Pokéball," my male companion responded sheepishly, taking the ball out of my hand and tucking it back securely into the bag he had slung at his feet.

I waited for an explanation, wanting some comment that might redeem my companion's mental status, but when none came and Jay added his hook to the ocean I prompted bluntly, "Why?"

He gave me a sideways look, "For easy identification."

"Why?"

"Because she's too young to battle," he responded, apparently surprised I didn't already know this, "If I accidentally sent her out in a fight I could lose my licence and I don't particularly want to be illegal."

Desperately trying to cover up a wince at the mention of illegal trainership, I asked, "But you don't accidentally send out the wrong Pokémon normally… In fact, I've never seen that happen."

He rolled his eyes, "Raven, it's the order of the balls on a trainer's belt that stops mistakes most of the time - you know that because you do it yourself - but I don't want to run the risk, alright?"

"A 'necessary precaution'," I mimicked with a slightly uncomfortable grin.

We fell into silence, the ocean sounds of screaming Wingull overhead, the slap of the waves against the bow and the creak of the boat itself interrupted only occasionally by the scrape of Raijin's dangling tail against the cabin wall. The vastness of it all was overwhelming: sky and sea spread out in all directions uninterrupted until they merged together in a mass of blue on the horizon. We were very far out, I released while Jay made himself more comfortable by stretching over the bench, so far out that if we were to sink…

Thankfully, that disturbing thought was broken off before it reached fruition by a sudden, sharp tug on my fishing pole. It took me a second to realise what was going on.

"A fish!" I yelped, leaping up and hauling on the rod.

The taut wire sliced through the water as whatever was on the end pulled back, but I grabbed onto the little handle and turned it, reeling in the water Pokémon. It resisted furiously, threatening to force the handle from my fingers, but with a mighty heave and an explosion of foam and spray a huge white and gold fish burst from the water.

"Deen!" it cried, sailing over the side and colliding heavily with the deck at my feet.

Its egg shaped body convulsed, the long, trailing tail that sprouted from the wider end flopping haplessly about. The horn that protruded from between its glistening eyes scratched the rough wood beneath it while decorative fins waved in the air.

Jay was quick on the draw, his own fishing pole clenched in one hand as he lifted his metallic red Pokédex in the other.

**"Goldeen, the goldfish Pokémon. Its tailfin billows like an elegant ballroom dress, giving it the nickname of the Water Queen. Goldeen loves swimming wild and free in rivers and ponds. If one of these Pokémon is placed in an aquarium, it will shatter even the thickest glass with one ram of its horn and make its escape,"** it reported with the usual robotic air of trustworthiness.

"Raijin, shock it!" I ordered, stabbing a finger at the flopping fish as though he might not have noticed it.

A sharp, condescending snort reminded me of yesterday's events.

"Fine then!" I snapped, snagging the icy blue Regenball from my hip and tossing it in the air.

"Poliii!" Polienix cried as she materialised, beating her wings to keep aloft when her yellow claws encounterednothing beneath them.

"Pol," I called up to my starter, "Help me capture this Goldeen!"

She gave a chirp of agreement, flying a quick loop-de-loop in the air before diving straight at the water type. Her bright yellow beak slicing at Goldeen's flesh, the bird quickly pulled out of her near-vertical descent and arched back upwards, a feral gleam in her black eyes. The fish convulsed, spluttering with pain, but somehow managed to right itself. Its tail spread out behind it like an ornate fan, it propped itself up on its front fins.

"GoldeengolDEEN!" it cried, a high pressure beam of water blasting from its red lips.

"Polienix, watch out!" I warned but she was way ahead of me, clipping one wing and wheeling out of harm's way.

"Okay then, quick attack!" I ordered, grinning at my Pokémon's improving reaction time.

She hesitated for a second, her eyes glowing with blue and purple light in a mixture I recognised from the fight with Clefairy. It pooled around her before lancing forwards in a jagged beam. Again Goldeen seemed unaffected but from this distance I noticed its blue eyes starting to cross. Some sort of mind alteration…?

I had no time to ponder this new move, Pol was already diving once again, although at much higher speeds this time. She rammed her shoulder against the fish's scaly side, flipping Goldeen into the air and quickly reversing direction so as to knock it once again before it landed. She zipped back and forth, each passing stroke furthering the extent of the damage that marred its glossy hide.

"Pol, that's enough!" I cautioned her as blood started to seep from the broken skin, "I think it's weak enough to catch!"

_"But-"_ the battle thirsty bird protested, enjoying the exercise even if it was at the other Pokémon's expense.

"But nothing!" I snapped, feeling pity for Goldeen and not wanting it to resent me forever when I captured it, "Pokéball, go!"

The ball arched through the air, a pre-emptive feeling of accomplishment building up inside me as it hurtled towards the beaten and bloodied form of Goldeen. There was a flash of light, the ball snapped open, my gut clenched and-

"Goldee-een!"

Apparently having regained its senses, Goldeen suddenly propelled itself from the wooden floor with the last of its strength, hurtling over the edge and towards the water.

"Pol!" I cried helplessly.

Flattening her wings against her sides, the icy bird dropped straight down. Flaring at the last possible second, her talons grabbed handfuls of the escaping water type's dorsal fin. Her outstretched wings trembled for a second under the strain, then gave completely. Lilac light surrounded her as she attempted to use her psychic powers to keep herself above water with her catch, but the weight was too much.

"Polienix!" Jay yelled as Goldeen hit the water with a splash, my starter still gripping it tightly.

Salt water exploded upwards in a colossal splash, Polienix missing submersion by little more than a last-second beam of scarlet light that drew her back into her Regenball. Jay and I stood, blinking, for a second.

"Damn," I finally muttered, letting my arm drop to my side, Regenball still in my hand.

"I'll say," Jay agreed, holding up two broken fishing poles with a pained expression, "So much for catching water Pokémon - you probably scared them all away with that sort of ruckus."

Cringing apologetically, although Jay looked more amused than angry, I was about to sit down when the voice of Captain called out from the back of the boat. We swapped glances, unsure of what he was blowing out of all proportion this time, but couldn't help but go in the direction of the noise when he started yelling something about pot - my desire to be on a boat had drained away a while ago, my desire to be on a boat with a drugged captain as our only sailor had never even started.

Giving Raijin a wide berth as we passed, the two of us made our way over to where the crazy old mariner was standing, his shoulders hunched and arms tense as he pulled on a thick rope that extended down into the deep. A large orange buoy, encrusted with white salt and a few tiny barnacles, was attached to the end and sat dripping by Captain's feet.

"What're you doing?" Jay inquired curiously, peering over the side as it he might be able to see far enough through the murky waves to catch sight of whatever was being lifted up.

"Pullin' up me old Corphish pots," Captain responded cheerfully, oblivious to the line of water that was dribbling off his elbow and into the sleeve of his battered coat.

"Corphish… pots?" I repeated in confusion, "What's a Corphish and why… why d'you give it…?"

Leaping on the chance to answer a question, the man continued to pull up more and more algae covered rope as he responded, "Corphish, they're them lil' orange shellfish Pokémon. Got claws, tha' sort of thing. Ye make a trap for them outta wood, put some bait in it an' throw it overboard. Leave it for a few, come back an' haul it up an' there's these Corphish innum. S'good."

A dull clunk of wood on wood sounded just after his last word, Jay's eyes going wide as he watched something emerge from the water. There was another thud as it hit the side again, accompanied by continuous clacking. With one last tug, the "Corphish pot" tumbled onto the deck, water sloshing around it.

It was not the terracotta vase I had imagined, but a cage made out of thin slats of wood. Through the gaps I made out the odd rusty orange claw snapping angrily and the skittering of hardened feet was prominent now. While Jay inspected it from close up, jerking back when one of the pot's occupants attempted to catch his fingers in a vicious pinch, Captain finished pulling up a duplicate of the first and wrenched it open, peering inside.

"Argh!" he exclaimed suddenly, snatching up something steel blue and shiny, "Not these damn fishes again!"

He went to throw the creature back into the water, ignoring the spray of water that it fired at his shoulder, but I leapt forwards and grabbed his elbow.

"Wait! If you don't want it, I'd like to catch it," I told him, not a second too soon.

"Eh?" he turned, the Pokémon thrashing in his hand, "Catch? This aggr'vating little thing?"

"Yeah, I guess," I responded, watching the foot-long fish as it snapped its small maw and flailed its large fins.

It was bullet shaped, streamlined to the extreme, with darker blue-grey lines marking its smooth sides. Its large, rounded eyes rolled to look at me as Captain held it out sceptically.

"Thank you."

Taking the fish in both hands and holding on tightly as it continued its thrashing, I decided to cut the battle short so as to avoid another episode like the Goldeen. Making sure I had good enough grip to aim, I turned back towards the boat and threw the water type in a huge arching curve over towards the cabin. Right into Raijin.

"Maaaaadriiiiiil!"

His roar of surprise, followed by a remarkable burst of electricity that crackled through the air above the boat, made we three humans duck and wince. It had a literally electrifying effect on the poor fish, lighting it up for a second so that every thin bone was visible as dark shadows before it dropped, smoking and motionless, onto the deck. I wasted no time, snatching an empty Pokéball from my bag and chucking it effortlessly in the creature's direction.

As the ball snapped shut, I grinned at Raijin, too pleased with myself to be afraid, "Ha, instant Pokémon!"

_"Humahn…"_ he growled warningly, golden eyes narrowing to slits as he crouched on the roof of the cabin, tail lashing like that of a furious cat.

Doing my best to make my involuntary swallow invisible, I quickly went over to where my new Pokémon's ball lay and picked it up, sidling back to Jay and Captain before polishing it against the hem of my shirt.

"Tha' 'Mon's dangerous, lass," the crazy sailor speculated gruffly, his voice pitched low so Raijin wouldn't hear, "He belongs somewhere else, th' pound, for example."

I shot Jay a look, but the one he returned it with was disapproving. I had upset him again, though how I didn't know. Something to do with Raijin, no doubt.

"The pound?" I repeated carefully, "You know much about it?"

A beaming grin let up his weathered face, and Captain said, "O'course! Me sist'r ownsa place, 'tis a grand dumping ground for whiny buggers like tha' one."

"Your sister!" Jay exclaimed, beating me to it, "You wouldn't happen to have any… leverage with how it's run, then? Only we've had a few bad experiences with the pound and-"

"Leverage? Bah!" the sailor glared at us both angrily, "My sister does th' best job with tha' place tha' anyone else ever could, I won't hear a bad word against her!"

He turned, muttering under his breath about impertinence, and started tending to his lobster pots with brusque movements.

"An' now you've made me lose one o'em!" he snarled, peering between the wooden slats, "There were four o'em in tha' pot, I tell ye!"

He did not seem to really care about getting an answer, which was good because we were already backing away, slipping past Raijin to the other end of the ship. The wind was stronger here, without the bulk of the cabin to shelter us, and I pawed futilely at my cropped hair as it lashed around my face.

"I bet there's a stupid little clawed thing scuttling about now," I muttered, "Just waiting to pinch me when I'm not expecting it…"

I looked up to find said "stupid little clawed thing" staring dumbly at me from Jay's hands. Not as small as I thought - it was taller than Jay's forearm was long, with claws bigger than my balled fist. It stood on six needle like legs that protruded from the hinged tan plates that guarded its underside.

"What - how?" I stuttered, amazed.

"Slight of hand," the boy responded curtly, "I make a good thief."

"But it's the size of a… of a…" I struggled for something that fitted, came up blank and simply stared at him.

"Doesn't matter," he dismissed the subject, retracting his hands and holding the Corphish to his chest so it couldn't escape, "What does matter is that you nearly got us all killed. An electric attack? In a boat in the middle of the ocean? Are you totally mad?"

I snapped back, "No! It… I mean, it sounded like a good idea at the time!"

I glared at him, fiery amber eyes meeting stormy blue-green, and we held a brief staring match before he looked away.

"Well, it wasn't a good idea. Seriously, Raven, you need to stop letting Raijin get to you. He's full of hot air - he might disobey you but he's not going to do anything drastic. No Pokémon would," his expression had turned softer, almost apologetic, and he nodded his head at the squirming creature in his arms, "I need a little room, if you don't mind."

Leaving him to properly capture the Corphish he had swiped off Captain, I ambled over to our bags and sat back down on the bench. The fact that I had as good as overcome my seasickness occurred to me as I stared out at the dips and swells of the deep water, the wind insistently pressing against my cheeks as clouds built up on the horizon, but I was too preoccupied to really care.

Jay's oddly naïve outlook on Pokémon surprised me - I had always viewed him as a knowledgeable, experienced trainer who knew a hell of a lot more than I did. The latter was still true, obviously, but the way he had dismissed Raijin as harmless made me doubt this "knowledgeable" aspect. Raijin was not harmless. The experience within Sprout Tower, when Raijin had kept up his electrical attack to the point at which I was completely helpless, had proved that to me. He might not have done damage as lasting as Mechyena's, but if Hades had not been there…

Well, some paths were best left alone.

Restless, I snatched up my bag and rifled through its contents, searching for something to occupy myself with. The temperature was dropping, giving the wind a biting quality, and the waves had gained small, foamy, white caps that splashed against the sides of the boat rather than rolling under us. After a few rains of spray had started to sink through my double layers, I started towards the cabin door, taking our bags with me on impulse. As I pushed aside the small, varnished door that led away from the effects of the elements, I noticed Raijin folding his sail-like wings meticulously so that they lay as flat as possible against his grainy sides. His eyes glimmered was an odd light but then I was within the safety of the cabin and not in the mood to even think about him.

The cabin was fairly bare, with a bench seat running along the far wall and all other corners stacked high with Corphish pots, their slim wooden slats looking much like smooth bones picked clean in the dull light of a lamp overhead. Dumping our bags on the floor near the bench I sat heavily on the moth-eaten padding, only to jump to my feet an instant later. I had a sudden urge to be productive but a quick glance around the room told me what I already knew: there was nothing to be productive _with. _Eventually I found a cabinet half hidden in the Corphish pot graveyard but it was as bare as the room itself.

I grumbled incomprehensibly to myself for a while, staggering over to my seat once again as the deck heaved a few times beneath my feet, before my attention was drawn to one of the Pokéballs in my pack. I raised an eyebrow at the thoughts jostling through my mind but the sceptical side of me stood no chance in the face of my boredom.

Swiping up the ball I twirled it fancily between my fingertips before crying out, "Arina, go!"

Order of the day: spider psychology.

She appeared out of the crimson beam, eight legs splayed on the wooden floor. Her eyes rolled in post-Pokéball confusion, but the second she was back in reality…

"HUMAAAAAAAAN!"

"Wait, Arina!" I cried, cursing her internally as I grabbed a leg to stop her from disappearing into the hill of pots, "I only want to talk!"

"LIAR!" she screamed, the sheer volume of her shout making me flinch back in surprise.

Quick reflexes were my saving grace once again, however, and I caught hold of her leg behind the knee this time before she could take advantage of my lapse. Spider psychology was quickly spiralling into spider restraint, I realised with a groan, but I wasn't about to give up just yet.

"Listen!" I demanded, voice raised in the vague hope that she could hear me over her own yelling, "You're being stupid! Trainers aren't dangerous we're… we're…" I groped for words before finishing stupidly, "More scared of you than you are of us!"

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" she hollered straight back, and I would have sworn my ears were beginning to bleed, "YOU'RE EVIL!"

She suddenly hurled her whole body weight away, surprising me, but I would have managed to keep a hold on her if it wasn't for the slick white material that plastered itself to my face seemingly out of nowhere. I gave my own yelp, fingers pulling away long, slender strands of the spider silk that covered my face from left jawbone to right temple, covering one eye completely.

I heard her laughter as she skittered away out of my reach and grabbed the silk in both hands, pulling until my eye was uncovered, the material dangling from my face like dislodged bandages. I left it there, not even considering it as it snarled itself around strands of my shortened rust red hair.

"Arina!" I thundered, any imposing effect my height and broad shoulders could have created eradicated forcefully when the ship started to buck more wildly over waves, causing me to pinwheel my arms and squirm like a demented hoola dancer as I struggled to stay standing.

The deck pitched again and I crashed into the Corphish pots, one of the traps breaking under my knee and imbedding curved fragments just beneath my kneecaps. I yelled again, more out of surprise this time, and thrust myself quickly backwards, loosing much of the silk in the process.

"SEE!" a furious little voice screeched, "EVIL! TRYING TO KILL ME!"

I would have come up with some sort of retort, perhaps slowed by the fact that I could feel my stomach starting to rebel, but I _would_ have done. I hadn't the chance. One minute I was standing, the next I was cracking my back on the edge of the bench and having the wind knocked right out of me. I twisted, fingers hooking like claws into the old fabric seats, and then I was buried in Corphish pots.

"Gah!" was all I could really come up with as I thrust the mostly broken wooden structures from my body, "Damn it!"

Caught up in one of my surges of furious single-mindedness, I snatched up the three spidery legs that protruded and yanked the wailing Arina from her upturned position in the sea of fisherman's equipment.

"Let go!" she cried, her voice dampened somewhat by what must have been a near-death experience in Spinarak terms.

"Hell no," I ground out in response, forcing myself one-handed to my feet and wading towards the door.

Kicking wrecked pots out of my way, I swung the door open, intent on finding out what was going on, just in time to see an enormous wave roar over the bow and crash down onto and into our tiny boat. The tortured wind shrieked about my ears and I immediately regretted stepping outside. The sky was black. Occasionally flashes of jagged lightning would rip through the air, illuminating heavy clouds and reflecting against the churning expanse of inky black sea with ghostly iridescence. It looked like we were caught up in the middle of a storm but… how? I had never seen something advance so fast!

"What's going on?" I bellowed at Captain, who was bent double over by the side to yank on a trailing rope, his silhouette momentarily illuminated to reveal the rippling of his sailor's muscles beneath his soaked blue coat before it faded back into a struggling lump of black.

He didn't respond, not that I was surprised with the racket the storm was creating, so I gritted my teeth, narrowing my eyes into determined slits, and gripped the squirming body of Arina to my chest as I began to make my way over to him.

It was hard going: the deck lurched like a thing alive beneath me, sometimes my steps coming up short, sometimes long, so that I stumbled all the way there. The gale was no help either, slapping my matted hair, still threaded with silk, against my face and driving rain and spray into my near-closed eyes.

"Captain!" I yelled again, reaching out with one hand to grab his shoulder, when suddenly the ship's floor reared up so much I thought we were going to roll right over.

Instead I just fell, rolling down the near-vertical plane of the deck as we suddenly slid sideways as though on some sort of well greased slide. I smacked into the side of the cabin, bruising my bruises, with arms flying akimbo as my hands sought to keep me sitting upright. Arina, free from my incarcerating embrace, chose to bury her legs in my hair, obviously fearing the sea more than me if the way she hung on for dear life was anything to go by.

I floundered for a second, cursing and crying and trying to stop, then I managed to look up the way I had come.

My heart stopped in my chest - just froze, as though someone had set it in concrete - and my jaw slid open limply. A curving wall of water towered over us, so high I would have sworn the skyscrapers had an aqueous rival, its black bulk blocking out the lightning-torn sky as though there was no sky, only water. The scream tore itself from my lips, tortured and animalistic, and I scrabbled mindlessly at the wood against my back, dragging myself to my feet by my bloodied fingertips. I was soon out of air, the intensity of the scream was such, yet it continued on anyway, an extension of sound that gathered within it a demonic frequency that accented perfectly my panicked response.

I had no idea what to do, I had no idea what I was doing, I just ran, back and forth at first and then to the base of the mast, trying to wrap my arms around it but failing, failing so terribly. Primal, crazy instinct carried me away from the mast once again, running and stumbling over the raised planks, my fingers reaching for the railing that encircled the cabin, grasping, holding-

And then the wave was on us.

My scream was swallowed by the rushing water, just as I was. I tried desperately to pull myself closer to the bar, to wrap my arms around it, but the current made my fighter's muscles irrelevant. Salt filled my mouth, forced itself up my nose, my head aching like someone was smashing it with a hammer and my fingers broke, or at least they felt like they did, as I was torn away from the railing, limbs flailing, caught up in the wave. The side of my hip collided with the side and then I was over, horribly, inevitably overboard and struggling for air, not sure which way was up but hoping I could reach it anyway, not thankful for the extra weight on my head.

My lungs burned but there was no way to tell if my vision was darkening, everything was pitch black already. I was soaked, hurt, drowning and blind, fighting against something I could not beat, could not even get a headlock on. I could feel the end looming, an ominous evil that, even in my suffering and terror, I shunned like my greatest enemy.

And then my head pierced the surface. Impossible, I thought, but no, I gasped and got air, yes, a lot of water too, but air. I think I might have been crying again, but I couldn't tell. I was already spluttering, my eyes already streaming, so making such matters definite seemed excruciatingly trivial.

So I kicked, that dumb instinct infusing me with a basic knowledge of treading water, possibly crying but perhaps not, as the huge waves (although none so horrific as the one before) bounced me up and down like a worthless piece of driftwood. If nothing crested over me I would be alright, yeah, yeah, alright, my legs weren't really biting cold, it was shock. Yeah, shock.

My eyes rolled, searching for the ship, but I saw nothing, only rolling waves that hindered my range of sight to ten metres or so. They had to be there, of course, couldn't just disappear, I just had to-

Another one!

This time I managed to suck in a mouthful of air before the monster wave knocked me under, but it was worthless: it was blasted from my lungs in a high-pressure beam as the force of the water slammed into my shoulder. So again I thrashed, breathless, beneath the water, and again I kicked, against all odds, to the surface. Only this time I wasn't bobbing. Each swell filled my nose and mouth with water, I was eternally spluttering, and I cast about for something, anything to grab onto so that I might get one good, deep breath. I thought I saw a stick, like a mast, holding stalwart behind another one of endless waves, but then again I also thought I saw a bat-like wing protruding from the water and a great white beast dart between clouds overhead. My senses were obviously beyond the point at which I could trust them.

As another wave sloshed over my head, depriving me of oxygen for more precious seconds, I felt my limbs turn to lead. It felt as though some sort of paralysing fluid was seeping through the cords of my muscle, encircling the shafts of my bones so that my kicking slowly started to fade, my arms becoming dead weights, dragging me down… down… down…

Down into never ending darkness.

* * *

**A/N:**

Let's all join the Obsidian slapping game, for Obsidian is stupid and generally dull-witted. I wrote this chapter half a month - no, a WHOLE month - ago and totally forgot about posting it here. SPPf is eating me alive. Well, so is DW5, but I shalln't blame that because I love it so.

**Dream4Evermore:** Nope, that's the sort of QuickEdit evil I was talking about. I just wish ffdotnet would tell me what's so bad about HTML... I never had this much difficulty with _that_.

**kayasuri-n:** ...which begs the question: is Raven a sane person? Well, maybe I'm just too harsh on her. 'Tis an easy thing to do.

**The Mad Tortoise:** Whitney always annoyed me, crying whenever she was defeated. Considering how early on in the League her gym is, surely she'd drown herself eventually?

As for Raven, yeah, I tried to make her as bitter as possible over the defeat, as that's the sort of person I visualise her as being. Hardly the sort to try and hide it all behind some sort of facade of politeness. One of the reasons I like Raijin so much is that he's quite the weakness for her - she recognises him as strong and so uses him more than her other Pokémon, despite the fact that he's currently more of a weakness than an asset. And if he evolves before Hades or Pol get any stronger... yeah, I can see some danger/hilarity stemming from that one.

((slaps self some more)) Again, my appologies for this being so late, and the different style that somehow hopped on board near the end. I hope this chapter was good, anyway, and I WILL get to work on the next one ASAP. Because cliffhangers are evil.


End file.
